World in Strife
by Sterok
Summary: All over the world in the Garden of Light, the Palmier Kingdom, Märchenland, and many more kingdoms, the Pretty Cure protect the peace. Yet dark forces from every corner of the map are sending the world into chaos, and Cures old and new will be called upon to combat these threats. But these threats take many shapes, and not every Cure is ready for battle.
1. The Invitation from Pretty Cure

The Invitation from Pretty Cure

Miyuki Hoshizora was smiling. For her that was not an unusual thing, since she always liked to act cheerful. School was finished for the week, and she was now free to do whatever she wanted to. Not that she was sure what she wanted to do, since she had only moved to the capital of Märchenland recently, but she was positive there was something she could do.

Ahead of her were two kids, one human, and one fairy. They played in a fountain, splashing each other without a care in the world. How nice that must be she thought. She did not know many people in the area, and it was difficult to goof off on her own. Thankfully Miyuki did have one friend, but she was younger and seemed to prefer being with her fairy friends then Miyuki. So for now she was alone, without a companion to share her happiness with. She was not sad though. How could she be, when Märchenland was filled with joy and fun wherever she looked?

Instead of going home, she took a turn for the south town square. There were always people there, and she could chat up with some of the locals and get some tips on where to enjoy herself. Maybe she could even get some food while she was at it. Food was always good.

Making her was through the streets, she stopped as she looked up at a statue. The statue wasn't giant, but it was fairly big, bigger than the person it represented. It was a statue of one of the nation's greatest defenders, one of the heroes that served to protect the kingdom from all that may threaten it (though for the life of her she could not figure out what could threaten them). One of the legendary warriors, Pretty Cure.

"How nice that must be," Miyuki sighed. "I bet all Pretty Cure are popular everywhere and have lots of friends." If only once, she wished she could meet one of them. Maybe even befriend them. But most of all, she just wanted to admire all they did to ensure she could live her happy life. They were the Royale Queen's most valiant servants, and made sure peace and justice were maintained in the kingdom.

She was about to turn away when she spotted something moving on the statue. Something small and white, though its ears were comparatively large and yellow. The object suddenly started growing larger, almost as if it were coming closer to her. At the last second she realized this was exactly the case as the fairy smashed right into Miyuki's face, knocking her on the ground.

"Ouch", Miyuki groaned. What had just happened? The fairy was clinging onto her head, making it difficult to see or even breathe. After a brief struggle, she managed to get the fairy off of her. Looking right at it, the fairy was shaking, and maybe even scared. Miyuki thought it seemed familiar, but she could not pinpoint exactly why.

The fairy started barking right in her face. "Help me! They're after me, and I don't want to go back." A girl, the fairy was definitely a girl.

Miyuki could not comprehend much more than that. "Wait a second, what is going on?" On one hand, she was confused why the fairy had just rammed into her. On the other hand, she was a little glad to meet someone new, even if it wasn't in circumstances she imagined.

The fairy hid right under Miyuki's shirt right when some human soldiers came running near. "Has anyone seen her?" one of the soldiers asked. All of the soldiers replied no. They looked at Miyuki, who shook her head while scrambling out of the way. "Continue the search. We cannot lose track of her."

The fairy popped out once they had left. Miyuki looked at her for a moment, not sure what to do next. "What was that about? Wait, first I need to introduce myself. I'm Miyuki Hoshizora." Smiling, she shook the fairy's tiny hands. Whatever was going on, it was always polite to introduce yourself first.

Hesitating for a second, the fairy answered, "I…I'm Candy. Pleased to meet you." Candy shook back and hopped onto Miyuki's shoulder. "Can you help me hide? And show me around town?"

Candy. The name sounded familiar to her, but she could not remember why it was significant. Oh well, it probably was not too important. "Sure, but why were you hiding from those soldiers? Are they bad people? Do you have secret information pertaining to the safety of the world and as such they want to silence you?" Miyuki's imagination could run wild occasionally.

"Not really", Candy replied quietly. "Mom and the others just won't let me out. It's boring, and I want to see some new things." Candy closed her mouth before she let out any more information.

To most people, Candy might have seen suspicious and been turned in immediately. To Miyuki, Candy was an adorable fairy that needed help, and she was just the girl to provide it. "Why don't we look the town square then? There are a lot of neat things and people there. We can play games, eat delicious food, or just sit around and chat with people."

Candy smiled. The idea of meeting new people and having fun without a dozen people watching over her sounded wonderful. "Let's do this," she exclaimed.

The duo went to the town square and began exploring all over it. They played a dart game to win a stuffed animal, but neither was any good. Candy tried to imitate some kids playing tag, but found it lacking with only two people. Miyuki bought some apples, and they relished the tasty snack. Candy tried to talk to some other fairies, but quickly hid again when it looked like they were about to recognize her or some soldiers ran near.

Tired, they sat down on some steps in an alleyway. "That was fun," Miyuki said. Candy nodded in agreement. Miyuki continued talking to herself. "Man, it's way better doing all this with friends. Spices things up and lets you do things you couldn't do on your own. I need to do this with Nico in the future." She turned to Candy. "Do you not have any friends you can do things like this with?"

Candy hesitated before answering. "My brother used to play with me a lot, but now he's always busy. Akane likes to joke around with me, but she isn't around all that often."

So she was often alone, just like Miyuki was. Even if she did have friends, that did not mean they were able to spend time with her. That was something Miyuki could understand. "You know, I know someone in my class named Akane. I guess that is another thing we share in common."

"She's over here!" a voice shouted. At one end of the alleyway a couple of soldiers pointed at them, then ran straight towards them.

Scrambling up, Miyuki placed Candy on her shoulder. "Time to go. Hold on tight." Taking off at full speed, she raced through the narrow alleys. She did not know the place all that well, nor was she an especially fast runner, but she was agile enough to avoid getting caught for some time at least. One soldiers nearly caught her, but she ducked under him and whirled sideways. When no one was in sight, she grabbed onto the side of a building and began climbing. "We should be able to hide on the roofs for a bit." Candy was shaking and held onto Miyuki for dear life.

When she was two stories high, her foot slipped off the brick it was on. Panicking, Miyuki couldn't get a solid footing. Candy nearly fell off Miyuki, and she had to catch the small fairy. With that action her other hand slipped, and they began plummeting towards the ground. They were screaming when a green figure caught them.

Calming down, Miyuki was dropped on the floor. Looking up, her savior was a tall older girl with light green hair extending to her knees. Her uniform was peculiar as well, and it took Miyuki a moment to realize what she was looking at. The girl said, "Jeez princess, I know you don't always like it in the palace, but can you please tell someone before you try to sneak out? We were worried that something had happened to you. And now you've dragged a civilian into your antics."

"No one would let me out, and there was no one to play with," Candy complained. "Why do I have to study and learn when everyone else gets to have fun?"

Miyuki wasn't listening to the conversation, and instead just pointed at the girl. "You, you're one of them. You're a Pretty Cure." Astounded, Miyuki could not believe her eyes. She was actually seeing one her heroes and idols. It was like a dream come true, but this was even better than what she had dreamed. She had actually been saved by one of them and had the chance to talk to her. Her mind had no idea what to say, as a million things raced through her head. Eventually she blurted out the biggest thing on her mind. "You're Cure May."

The Cure and Candy stopped their argument and turned to stare at Miyuki. Silence filled the air even as soldiers came running in around them. Miyuki continued, unsure if she had made a mistake. "Your name is Cure May right?"

Slapping her head, the green Cure sighed. "Great, the princess found one of those people." She stared down at Miyuki. "It's Cure March. How do you not know your own kingdom's Pretty Cure?"

Miyuki blinked. That was embarrassing. She may have only recently moved to the capital, but she had lived in Märchenland all her life, and she should at least know her own heroes' Cure names. "I was close, right?" she said in an attempt to save face.

Candy started to cry. "Please don't take me away from Miyuki. I just wanted to have fun, and she showed me all these neat things I hadn't seen before. At least, don't do anything bad to her"

"Princess, this is really not appropriate behavior from you. I don't think your mom will happy." Candy pouted. March patted the fairy's head. "Don't worry; I won't do anything to her. Why would we punish someone who was just helping their princess?"

Another fact finally clicked in Miyuki's mind. In her joy in seeing a Pretty Cure, she had missed something important. "Wait, you're Princess Candy, the future ruler of Märchenland?" She stared at the tiny fairy standing between her and March. No wonder she seemed familiar.

Cure March slapped her head again. "I really don't know what to think anymore." She tried to grab Candy, but the princess leaped back into Miyuki's arms. "Don't be such a child. You have a duty, and it's too dangerous to be frolicking out in the open."

Candy leaned into Miyuki, and the confused girl hugged her tightly. "But Miyuki was so much nicer and more fun than everyone else lately." Candy did not want to lose her newest friend. Miyuki did not understand what was going on, but she decided to help Candy however she could.

Before March could grab Candy, an explosion some blocks away rattled everyone. "What is going on?" March shouted. She and the soldiers raced out of the alley. Miyuki got up, still holding Candy, and chased after them. If this was going where she thought it was, there was no way she was going to miss the opportunity.

A living house was the culprit. With legs, arms, a mouth, and a giant red nose, the monster was smashing a building, apparently hating the competition it had. Humans and fairies alike were running from cover, not wanting to be in the way of a rampaging house. Turning to face Cure March, it shouted, "Akanbe!"

"Why did an Akanbe have to show up now of all times?" March grunted. She turned to Miyuki. "Don't move unless you have to, and don't let the princess out of your sight." Turning to the soldiers, she barked out orders. "Evacuate the civilians. Clear out the area as much as possible. I'll handle the big guy."

Nodding, the soldiers scrambled to grab the injured and escorted panicking people to safety. Miyuki backed up, both scared and fascinated. She did not want to deal with a monster stepping on her as if she was an insect, but she wanted to watch Cure March and see her hero in action. This day was getting more and more exciting by the minute.

"Over here!" March shouted, waving her arms. Abandoning its building destruction, the Akanbe ran after her, for something so large, it was surprisingly fast, closing the distance between it and March in seconds. Miyuki wanted to shout out for her to be careful, but March did not need it. In a blur she jumped out of the way Akanbe's fist. It tried to punch her again, but she jumped over it and landed on its arm. Running up at a speed Miyuki did not think was possible, she kicked the Akanbe in the nose with enough force to knock it down.

Landing off it, March was not even breathing hard. As the Akanbe struggled to recover, she rushed straight at it, once again becoming a green blur, with such speed that Miyuki did not know how she could still control herself. Ramming her fist into it, the Akanbe flipped over onto its back. Leaping up, she prepared to smash it with a powerful kick.

Unfortunately, the monster was not that frail. Possibly by blind luck, its left hand collided with March sending her flying into a bench. The bench crumpled upon contact, and dust and splinters flew up. March struggled to rise.

"March!" Miyuki shouted. She wanted to see Pretty Cure destroy some monsters, but not if they were actually getting hurt in the process. "Candy, is there anything I can do to help?"

Candy was shivering. "I don't think so." Her eyes widened as she came up with an idea. "Not unless…look out!"

The Akanbe had turned to Miyuki and Candy and rushed towards them. Miyuki ran away, not loosening her grip on Candy at all. The Akanbe tried to punch her, but thankfully fell just short of actually hitting her. Coughing into the dirt that had come into her face, she ran to the side, hoping to get further away from it. Leaping up, the Akanbe soared into the sky before coming right back down to crush her. Miyuki tripped and fell down, and as she looked up she realized she wasn't going to get out of the way. She placed herself above Candy and hoped that at least she would be okay.

Right before she was flattened, March kicked the Akanbe in midair, sending it off track into a wall. Not looking away from it, she called out to Miyuki and Candy. "Are you two all right?"

"Yeah," Miyuki responded. Candy's eyes were closed, and they were both shaking heavily. Yet strangely, Miyuki did not feel any fear. Just relief that Candy and March were all right.

"Good. I've had enough of this guy." March leaped up into the sky, wind gathering around her. A light shined around her. The Akanbe started to get up, but it was too slow. Forming the wind energy into a ball, she shouted, "Pretty Cure March Shoot!" Kicking the wind ball with all her might, it smashed into the Akanbe, which exploded into nothingness.

Landing right in front of Miyuki, March was breathing heavily. "Guess it's finally done. That was not my best performance."

Miyuki ran right in front of her, eyes filled with glee. "That was amazing. You were like whoosh, and then you were all pow and then wham. It's just like I imagined."

March grinned. "Well, it's what we do. It is nice to know we are appreciated." Her face grew more serious. "All right princess, fun time is over. It's time to return to the palace."

Candy shook her head. "I said no. Not without Miyuki." Miyuki stepped back, unsure what she was supposed to do.

"Don't make this hard on yourself or her. I'm sure she is a nice girl, but you just saw how dangerous it can be out here. Akanbe are attacking us more frequently, and I can't risk you becoming injured or worse. She doesn't have a place in your life."

"Um, I don't understand what's going on, but shouldn't you be respecting Candy's wishes if she's the princess?" Miyuki asked. March's glare scared her, but she continued. "I mean, you are awesome and all that, but I don't want to be separated from her any more than she does from me."

"Miss, please hand the princess over. You have nothing to do with her, and I don't want her exposed any more. I will only ask one more time."

Candy leaped out of Miyuki's arms onto her head. "What if she becomes a Pretty Cure?"

"Huh?" March's impatience turned once more into confusion.

Miyuki did not think she had heard that correctly. "Candy, what did you say? I could have sworn you said you wanted me to become a Pretty Cure. That would be pretty neat actually, but I don't think I'm fit for that." She laughed, thinking this would be a good joke to tell later.

"I'm serious Miyuki. You can become a Pretty Cure. Then we can play more often, and you get to be a cool warrior like her."

Coughing, March said, "Look, she didn't do all that bad in protecting you, but we can't just go and pick random people off the streets to become a Pretty Cure."

"Her heart is kind. Her soul is pure. Her body is strong. Doesn't she fill all the requirements?"

"I could think of a few reasons why she isn't." March sighed. "But maybe you have a point. And we could use the extra help. Plus this gives me a few ideas." She looked straight into Miyuki's eyes. "What do you say? Do you wish to join us? Do you wish to pledge your life in serving the people? Do you wish to be one of the chosen few, one of the legendary warriors?"

Miyuki's mind was about to explode. So many things had happened today that she couldn't comprehend it all. Was she dreaming? Were they pulling a joke on her? Was this real? She pinched her own cheek. Pain. This was probably real. Pointing to herself she asked, "Me? Become a Pretty Cure?"

* * *

Saki Hyuuga was walking home from school, just like she always did. Casually looking at the flowers on the side of the path, she noticed they were starting to bloom again. Just like they had last year. Not that it was a bad thing. She liked it when the flowers, bloomed, since that was usually a sign that the weather was going to improve. Still, she wished there was something new she could do. Her town of Yuunagi was certainly nice, but there was absolutely nothing to do. All there was to do was watch nature or play games. Softball was fun, but she wanted something to spice up her life.

"Has anything ever happened in this town?" she whispered. She could not think of anything. Yuunagi was located practically in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by many kingdoms, yet part of none. Fairies were rare in this area too. They didn't even get many traders coming through, so visitors were scarce. Something, anything new would be nice.

Her friends walking alongside her looked at her. "Did you say something Saki?" the slightly taller Hitomi Itou asked.

"Ah, nothing really." Saki gave a brief laugh. "I was just wandering if there was something we could do? There's nothing really going on right now."

Her shorter friend Yuuko Outa replied, "Why don't we go over to Kenta's house? We can fish and listen to Kenta's jokes. Those are always good." She sighed dreamily.

"That's just your opinion Yuuko," Saki retorted. "And we've done plenty of that already. Didn't we do that last week?"

"Then what should we do?" Hitomi asked.

"That's what I was asking. It looks like there really is nothing to do. Maybe I'll go swimming or something." Spotting a small crowd nearby, she paused. That was unusual. A crowd forming right off the street was not something that occurred often. Which meant that they must be seeing something. "What's going on over there?"

Saki ran over to the crowd, followed by Hitomi and Yuuko. Pushing her way through, she was surprised by what she saw. There were three girls wearing matching uniforms dancing in front of everyone. They looked to be slightly older than her. The center girl had her hazel hair in two pigtails. To her right was a taller girl with long violet hair, matching the center girl step by step. The left girl had shorter hair with a color that resembled ginger. From what she could tell, she was just as good as the other two. Saki was mildly surprised at the array of colors they had, for her own orange hair tended to stick out, especially in this small town.

The trio danced in sync with one another, twirling with grace and swaying their bodies and hair fluidly. Saki could not follow their exact movements, but she could tell that these three had to be pros. They certainly weren't from around here. That alone made them worth watching.

After a few minutes the trio came to a stop, posing for everyone to see. Saki started clapping, and the audience clapped as well for the dancers. It was a beautiful dance, and she could not remember ever seeing anything like it before.

A ferret carrying a bowl ran up to the crowd. Surprisingly, it started speaking "That was the Clover dancers. All right people pay up. These dances don't come free you know. Come on come on, don't you want to help this cute fairy and these nice ladies?" His voice had a strange accent that Saki could barely understand. Not that she was actually listening to him. She was just shocked that the ferret had just talked.

Chuckling, a man threw some coins in the bowl. The rest of the crowd followed suit, chipping in some spare change. Soon the crowd had dispersed, leaving just Saki, her friends, and the dancing group.

The lead girl walked up to the ferret. "Tarte, you don't have to be so pushy. It drives off people from even seeing us."

Tarte snorted. "Well someone has to manage our finances. Since you three are busy with other things, I'll just manage our expenses, so don't worry about it Peach."

Saki was beginning to wonder if visitors were weird on principle. The tall girl stepped up. "Now Love, you know he's right. Just think of it as, a perfect performance deserves perfect treatment. Besides, you do want to eat right?"

"You're taking his side too Miki? Yeah I know all that, but it feels like it defeats the purpose of doing this for everyone. Though I guess I am getting hungry."

Panting, the last girl joined in. "We don't all have your talent. I'm exhausted, and I'd rather not sleep on the ground again."

Love turned to the ginger haired girl. "Buki, you did just fine. And sleeping on the ground is fun and builds character." Her smile infected Buki and Miki, who returned it. "Now let's find something to eat. I heard there's a great bakery in town."

Saki burst out laughing, causing the dancers to look her way. "I'm sorry; it's just that I'm surprised to see this. One moment you're this perfect group, and the next you're acting like you can't read each other's minds. The contrast is just amazing, that's all."

The ferret ran over to her. "Pay up missy. Don't think you get a freebie just because you came late."

Saki, Hitomi, and Yuuko stared at him, not sure how to respond to him. "What, you never seen an adorable fairy like me before?"

"It's not that," Hitomi said. "Actually, it is that. We don't get many fairies around these parts. I think I've seen about three fairies this whole year."

As Saki digged through her pockets, Love grabbed Tarte. "Don't mind him; he just likes to tease cute girls. We have to put up with him every day." Tarte bit Love's finger for that comment, but even as she winced she held on.

Saki pulled everything she had out of her pockets. A failed test and a half-eaten candy bar. "You said you were hungry right? Why don't I treat you to something from my family's bakery? The bread there is delicious."

Drool appeared on Love's mouth at the word bread. Miki and Buki finished cleaning up their supplies. "That would be generous of you," Miki said.

It was just a short walk to Pankakapan, like it was to everything in town. "I'm home," she called out when she entered.

Her dad was out the counter. "Hey. You got some new friends I see."

"Yeah, I guess. Can you bring some food outside? I kind of owe them a little." Her father nodded and started preparing the bread.

The six girls plus fairy plopped down on the porch. "This is a nice town," Love said. "Small, but nice. The atmosphere is very friendly."

"You think?" Saki replied. "Maybe at first, but it gets kind of boring after a while. Who are you people anyway?"

Love put her hand to her chin as if she was in deep thought. Miki shook her head, as if telling Love not to say something. Buki shook her shoulders. Tarte was climbing over Hitomi and Yuuko. "I guess you could say we're travelling dancers. Clover is our group name. We have just one goal, to brighten everyone's day with our dancing. I'm Love Momozono"

"Says the person who wanted a reason to go travelling," Miki stated. Love's face had a pained expression on it. "I'm Miki Aono. She is right, this is a nice town.

"That seems really neat," Yuuko said while petting Tarte. I kind of wish I could go travelling someday. Not sure where I'd go though. Märchenland sounds like a fun place visit. Or maybe the Palmier Kingdom."

Buki was the next to speak. "Travelling sounds fun at first, but it is really tiring. I don't recommend just doing it on a whim. I'm Inori Yamabuki by the way." She looked around. "Seeing nice, peaceful places like this does make the effort worth it though."

"Pine, don't tell me Peach is starting to rub off you. It's hard enough to manage with just one person who doesn't think things through. Let's not add a second." Tarte had moved on to Hitomi.

What's with those names?" Hitomi asked.

Miki answered quickly. "Just nicknames he found cute and won't stop using, despite how I keep asking him to stop."

"Was that a compliment Berry?" Tarte teased. Miki tried to grab him, but he leaped off onto Saki.

Saki laughed again. "I'm jealous. I wish I could have a fairy of my own. It would be like a pet, but one I could talk to. Speaking of pets, there's Korone. I'm Saki Hyuuga" Saki's cat jumped up next to Saki. He took one look at Tarte, then swiped at him. Tarte yelped and leaped to Inori. Hitomi and Yuuko introduced themselves.

Love chuckled. "Fairies are nice, but they can get a bit overprotective at times." She was interrupted when Saki's father came out with bread. Love thanked him and began wolfing down her portion. Miki and Inori ate slower, but still quickly. Tarte stole a bit from all three of them while avoiding Korone. Saki wasn't that hungry, so she saved some for a later snack.

"Delicious," Love said after finishing. "We should come back here later."

"This is great," Miki agreed. "And unlike you, I actually took the time to enjoy this."

Love jumped up. "It was nice talking to you three. We'll be leaving town soon, but I'll definitely remember this place."

"Already thinking ahead? Peach, you need to calm down a bit."

"Not yet. Not when there is so much left to do." Love turned to Saki. "You're lucky to live in such a great place. I mean both this town and bakery. Make sure to treasure it, all right?"

Saki tilted her head. Love suddenly seemed a lot more serious. Then again, she was odd. Who knew what went on in her head? "I will. Oh and before you go make sure you check out the Sky Tree. You see that big tree at the edge of those woods?" She pointed to make sure they could see it. "You don't want to miss it."

Love took Saki's hand and shook it. "Maybe we'll see each other again. Until then, goodbye." With that she took off.

Miki, Inori and Tarte took off after her carrying their bags. Inori turned back to Saki. "Thanks for the food and advice." And with that, the dancing trio and ferret fairy were gone.

"Those were some weird people," Hitomi said. "But fun. They really are lucky to get to see so many places. I'd like to go out and explore if I had the chance."

"Me too," Yuuko agreed. "You're right Saki. There really is nothing much to do around here." The two said their goodbyes and left to go home. Saki stroked Korone for a minute before heading inside. Her family was looking at letters.

"Did we get anything interesting?" Saki asked.

"Just letters from some old friends, that's all. Nothing you need to concern yourself over."

"Dang it. Well, guess I can't expect too many interesting things in one day."

Saki's little sister Minori was looking at one. "This one is addressed to you, but I guess you don't want it anymore." She was smirking.

"Just give it to me." Saki was about to just take it when Minori handed it over. The letter was odd. It shaped not like a rectangle, but more like a triangle. Not even that, but a fountain. The letter had her name on it, but no address. There wasn't even a return address, so there was no clue as to where it came from. "What is in this?" she mumbled.

Tearing it open, she found nothing inside. She stared deep into it, but there was nothing. Was this some kind of joke Minori was playing on her? No, Kenta was a more likely possibility. She would have to plan her revenge on him. She threw it down on the table.

Just as she did that, a small image appeared. It was like a fairy, but it also looked more like a human. Her eyes were closed, and she wore a long green dress. Most oddly, she had a golden tiara about her size around her. To Saki, she seemed strangely nostalgic. Before anyone could do anything, she began to speak. "Saki Hyuuga, I am Princess Filia of the Land of Fountains. I invite you to the Land of Fountains to partake in a ceremony only you can do. I have need of your services, so I ask you and only you to come as soon as possible. Thank you for your assistance and have a safe trip here." When the message ended the image disappeared.

Minori was the first to speak. "Who was that and what does she want with Saki?"

Their father sat down, stunned at what he just saw. "That was Filia, the ruler of the Land of Fountains. She's a very important person and important maintaining the balance of the world. I think. I don't know what she wants with Saki, but whatever she wants, it must be important.

Their mother reacted next. "You aren't saying that Saki should actually go there are you? Sure it sounds like it's important, but she's still got school, and I don't want her going off on her own." Saori was not fond of the idea of Saki leaving when she was still so young.

Minori ran up to Saki and grabbed her. "Sis, you're not really leaving are you? I don't want you to leave."

Saki was breathing heavily. Just as she was starting to think her life was starting to get boring, she was thrown a way to spice it up. Right as she was talking about travelling, she had the excuse to go out. Was it fate? Luck? Probably luck, but she took it as a sign anyway. This was her chance to do something exciting, something she could tell stories about, and something that she could look forward to. A change from the boring life that she was now living.

All fired up she was certain of her choice. Standing straight up, she announced her decision loud and clear. "I'm going to the Land of Fountains."

* * *

Erika Kurumi was bored. For her, that was a natural state with a mind as active as hers. There were only so many times she could bug her big sister, and the last time she bothered her classmates they refused to talk to her for a week. Why were they so slow? She had already finished her homework, but that was turning out to be a mistake. Without anything to do she could have taken her time and be lazy, but now she was lazy without anything to do. She tried balancing a pencil on her lips, then two, and then three before they fell off and she lost interest.

"Guess I'll sew some more clothes," she muttered to no one in particular. That hobby was still enjoyable, but she had a block on new ideas. Nothing was inspiring to her, and making the same stuff over and over got old quickly. It was like her brain was frozen on ideas. Something cold would be nice. Ice cream would be delicious. Too bad she already ate a bunch of crackers, which meant her mom would probably yell at her if she went to get more food.

More ideas ran through her mind, and she discarded them just as quickly. She could do plenty of stuff, but none of it was particularly interesting. Bouncing balls off a wall wasn't stimulating, and neither was trying to name all the birds that flew by her window. She already counted the number of threads on her carpet, even if she did not remember the number. Picking up a needle, she rummaged through her unfinished pile.

Down below her mother called for her. "Erika, can you come down? We've got a customer, and I'm busy."

Erika dropped her needle and sighed. "Coming." Working in her family's store wasn't exactly on top of her list of exciting things to do, but at least it was something. She leaped out of her room and went downstairs to greet the customer. "Welcome to Fairy Drop. How can I help you?"

Somewhat surprisingly, since their store had mostly girls' clothes, the customer was a boy. A cute boy she thought. His brown hair went down to his neck, which was a bit long for a guy, but not that unusual. He was also decently tall. Or maybe he wasn't that tall and it was just her small height messing with her perception. There was a bag over his shoulder. He was looking around when she came down. "Ah, I'm looking for some shirts. Do you know where I can get some for someone a bit smaller than me?" His voice was slightly higher pitched then she would have guessed, but what did she know.

Erika directed him over to where the small shirts were. He looked around a bit before picking up a red and white shirt. Then he picked up a pink shirt with flowers on it. After some more browsing he ended up with four shirts, none of which seemed appropriate for a guy. He moved onto a section which had larger clothes that would more likely fit him. He took a pure yellow shirt and placed it in front of him. "How does this look"?

Erika leaned in to get a close look from every angle. Maybe too close, seeing how he leaned back. "Well, it should fit. What person are you buying for, if I may ask?"

"Actually, I'm buying for two. Well, five actually." The boy folded it up and selected another shirt. His browsing continued as he got pants, skirts, and socks in addition to his collection of shirts. Then he moved on to the fairy section and pulled started picking several more clothes.

"Five people? Must be a popular guy. And a sweetie to buy so much stuff for them." He looked interesting. More interesting than sewing the same clothes for the tenth time for sure. Eventually he finished shopping and paid for everything. When all was said and done, there were four bags for him to carry.

Leaning on the counter, Erika saw a chance to escape boredom, at least for an hour. "Hey, you need help carrying that? I really don't have anything better to do."

He did not even bother to look up as he managed to pick up all the bags. He replied, "Thanks, but I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Erika leapt over the counter and took one of the bags. She wasn't going to miss the chance to meet a cute guy who was willing to shop in a clothing store like Fairy Drop. She called out, "I'm heading out for a bit mom."

"Don't be gone too late. I don't want to have to make Momoka chase after you again." Her mom was just entering the room.

"I know. I know." She grabbed another bag from the boy and practically pushed him out the door. "So where are you headed? Got a mansion filled with your harem?"

The boy looked confused, but decided not to protest her. "Actually, I'm headed to the botanical garden."

"The garden? I don't think I've been there. Seems fun." Erika knew exactly what he was talking about. In Kibougahana, there was only one place that could be called the garden. The one that belonged to the Hanasaki family, and the town's biggest attraction aside from the Heart Tree. Why the Heart Tree was considered an attraction was a mystery to Erika. Sure she knew it was important for some Pretty Cure related reason, but that didn't make it interesting. It was just a tree after all.

Their walk continued in silence for a bit. The boy did not seem interested in talking, and Erika couldn't come up with anything to say. Eventually she settled for bragging. "You know, I've seen Moonlight once. Yes, the Cure Moonlight." Erika saw no need to expound further on who she was. If there was anyone that did not know who Cure Moonlight was, they had to be a complete idiot or living underground and cut off from society. "My sister is friends with her, and she came over to the shop once. I even got to speak with her. That was cool, speaking with a living legend."

It did seem to get his attention, but unlike her classmates he did not seem amazed. "That's nice. What was she like there?"

"Well, she didn't seem too interested in the clothes, but I managed to find something that was just perfect for her. Silver fits her, you know? Anyway, she was really quiet, but when she spoke, it was like I had to listen to her. She's got this aura around her, like you have to respect her, or she'll cut you down like so many of the bad guys she beat. But she was also really nice and polite."

He nodded. "Yes, that sounds like Cure Moonlight." They arrived at a large building that looked like it was made up of glass. The botanical garden was right in front of them. Entering it, Erika was stunned. Of course she had seen lots of flowers. After all, Kibougahana was known as the city of flowers. But the garden trumped all she had seen before. It was huge, with rows upon rows of different flowers stretching in all directions. It wasn't just flowers, there were also shrubs and bushes and small trees. There must have been hundreds of plants in there. There was even a small pool in the corner.

The boy looked around. "She should be here somewhere." Both of them spotted someone red crouched down over some flowers. "Found her. Tsubomi, I got some clothes." Tsubomi barely nodded her head in acknowledgement. The boy sighed and went over, followed by Erika. Once he got to her sides, he tapped her, and she finally looked up at him. "I brought a guest over. Why don't you say hi?"

Tsubomi turned to face Erika. For her part, Erika had only one thought. What an adorable girl. She bet she could design some really cute clothes for her to make her stand out even more. Heck, this garden itself was giving her ideas. Maybe she should've come here before. She set the bags down. "I'm Erika Kurumi. And wow this is a nice place. You're Tsubomi Hanasaki right? Granddaughter of Cure Flower? Aren't you lucky to practically own a place like this?" She was leaning in so much that she was practically in Tsubomi's face.

Tsubomi shrank back and looked away. "Y-Y-Yes, that's me." She looked like she wanted to run and hide from the aggressive girl. "Itsuki, who is she?"

Itsuki placed down his clothing bags. "She works at the Fairy Drop store I told you about. She was… insistent on coming, so I thought, why not introduce her to you. I am Itsuki Myoudouin by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier."

Erika had already moved on and smelled the flowers that Tsubomi had been over. "That's fine. Hey Tsubomi, what kind of flowers are these? And those? Those look neat too." Erika haphazardly pointed at any batch that caught her interest.

Quietly, but with a bit more confidence, Tsubomi quickly answered. "These are cherry blossoms. And these are white cyclamens. Over there are lilies. Do you like flowers?"

"Not really, but these are giving me some ideas." Erika nearly sat down on some flowers before Itsuki pulled her back up. "Sorry, but these look so comfortable."

"Itsuki, you're back. What did you get us?" A new voice appeared, belonging to a flying fairy with a pink bow on her head. She looked into one of the bags and pulled out a red ribbon. "You're so sweet Itsuki." The fairy then spotted Erika. "Who is she?"

Before Erika could introduce herself, something rammed into the back of Erika's head, nearly causing her to fall over. "An intruder, that's who Chypre. Come, we must drive the foul beast away from our delicate flower."

Erika spun around and caught the fairy that attacked her. This one had blue beads on his head instead of ribbons. "Oh, so I'm an intruder now am I? In that case I'll do what a proper intruder should do and ransack what's precious in it. First I'll take what's on you, and then I'll help myself to that delicate flower."

Carefully walking to Erika, Tsubomi plucked the blue fairy out of her hands. "Don't mind Coffret. He's just a little overprotective of this place."

Coffret continued to eye Erika suspiciously until Chypre pulled him away. The pink fairy flew over to Itsuki. "How is Potpourri doing?"

Rummaging through his own bag, Itsuki pulled out a smaller, yellow fairy. "She's still sleeping." The fairy began to open her eyes. "She was at least. Potpourri, did you have a good nap?"

Apparently Potpourri was quick to wake, as she immediately hugged Itsuki. "Itsuki, I always sleep well when I'm with you."

As Itsuki petted her, Erika began to wonder off in the direction of the pool. "You mind if I go there?" Tsubomi shook her head. Jumping over several rows of flowers, Erika reached the pool. It was calm, but there were enough leaves and petals in it that it was clear the pool had not been cleaned in some time. Next to it was a large green stuffed animal with a heart on its chest. She poked it a few times, and it felt soft and furry. Moving on to the pool, she stuck her hands in the water. It was cool, but not too cold.

Coffret was floating next to her. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Erika pointed to Itsuki. "Mr. Popular over there was buying a bit too much stuff, so I offered to help carry it. That and I was bored. You know, I never thought about it before, but there are a lot of different kinds flowers. It's like, how many can you fit into one space? I'm Erika Kurumi by the way."

Coffret was confused for a moment before snickering. "Of course. _Mr._ Itsuki I'm sure was grateful for your help, even if it came from a rude girl." Erika lunged at him again, but he got out of range this time.

Despite the whispers, Erika could still overhear Itsuki talking. "Really Tsubomi, you should try and make a bigger effort to get to know people."

Tsubomi was watering some flowers. "I'm fine really. I don't see why I need to speak with others. The flowers keep me company. You and Chypre and Cologne and Grandma are enough."

"Yes, but I think you need to get out more. If you're going to become a Pretty Cure someday, then you'll need to be outside and meet people."

Moving to another batch of flowers, Tsubomi disagreed. "I don't see why. Most other people are scary enough as it is. I can't keep up with just that one girl. And besides, I already said I don't want to become a Pretty Cure. I would be a terrible one. I just want to take care of the flowers."

There was that phrase. Pretty Cure. The term reserved only for the warriors of legend that defended the peace all over the world. Those people invariably lived exciting lives, going new places, meeting important people, and receiving the admiration of all. It sounded like a fun life from what Erika had heard. Very fun in fact. An idea formed in her mind. One that would ensure she wouldn't get bored again. And would get her attention from all.

Scrambling over to them, Erika grabbed Tsubomi and Itsuki. "Do you know how I can become a Pretty Cure? If she doesn't want to do it, I can. Why I'd be wonderful at it. I'm gorgeous, smart, and athletic. Oh, and I like helping others, as you should know. Heck, I bet Moonlight and Sunshine would be overjoyed to have me by their sides."

Potpourri seemed offended by that last statement. "Sunshine doesn't need anyone's help. She's fine all on her own."

Itsuki patted the yellow fairy. "Now now Potpourri, be nice. As for you, while you seem enthusiastic about it, I don't think we could accept you out of the blue. Only a few particular people have the capability to pull it off. Tsubomi, despite what she may say, is very capable. Besides, aren't you a bit young to become a Pretty Cure?"

"Hey, I'm 14. Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't be as good as Moonlight." Erika decided to convince Tsubomi. "Do you mind? I'd really like to become a Pretty Cure, so if you don't mind I could take your place. Wait, I have a better idea. We could become partners. I can see it already; the two of us are Pretty Cure, saviors of the world from whatever evil there is."

Avoiding meeting Erika's eyes, Tsubomi stammered out a response. "I don't know what to say. What do you want me to do?" She was breathing hard, not used to having someone in her face.

"Don't listen to the crazy girl Tsubomi. She's bad for your health." Coffret didn't like that idea, especially with who would likely end up as Erika's fairy partner in that scenario.

Chypre tried to calm Tsubomi down. "It's okay. Just relax. You don't need to decide anything right now."

Itsuki coughed. "Anyway, I'm afraid we'll have to decline your offer. Though it is nice to see someone that would like to become a Cure."

Drat. There went that plan. She probably would not get anywhere unless she could find Moonlight or Sunshine and convince them to let her join, but that seemed unlikely. "Too bad. I would've loved to wear those clothes they have. I have to go now. Don't need my sister to yell at me again." Erika headed for the exit, satisfied that she at least managed to kill some time. Before exiting she called out to Tsubomi. "Can I come back some other time? I think this place will get me lots of inspiration for my designs. Maybe I'll even let you try on some of my clothes." Without waiting for an answer, she exited the garden.

Baffled, Tsubomi was barely able to croak out an answer. "Sure, I guess." Erika was an odd girl. Someone she couldn't keep up with. Not someone Tsubomi could stay in the same room without getting tired.

But she did kind of want to see her again.

Erika walked home slowly. Tsubomi was a quiet girl. Someone she could talk to without being interrupted. And she was cute enough to be a potential model. Yes, she would visit her again. Hopefully she could do it without seeing the annoying fairy.

One thing still puzzled her. Itsuki had bought clothes for two girls. So who was the second? Well, it didn't matter too much. Whoever she was, she was lucky to have a nice friend or boyfriend.

* * *

Mai Mishou was drawing. Specifically, she was drawing a picture of her school. Not necessarily the most exciting thing to draw, but it was good practice nevertheless. She couldn't just draw people, fairies, or nature. Diversity was always a good thing to embrace. She finished sketching the outline of the building and began filling in the details.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. Mai nearly jumped up in surprise. "What are you doing?" The question was an inquisitive one, nothing more.

Looking back, she recognized her instantly. Getting up, Mai said, "Just drawing the school. Is there anything wrong with that?"

The girl chuckled. "No, I was just curious. Most people who are still here are either in their clubs or staying in for detention, so I was wondering what you were doing."

That was true. Even Mai was here for her art club, even if she wasn't meeting with them. She just found this to be a good chance to practice in peace. "I assume you are here for student council work Miss Hishikawa?"

Rikka Hishikawa was well known throughout the school, though being part of the student council was only part of the reason. "Basically, though I'm all done for the day. Right now I'm waiting for our president to finish up helping the tennis team. Why she feels the need to help them is beyond me. And what's with the formality anyway?"

Mai suddenly realized that she was having a conversation with Rikka Hishikawa, probably the second most famous person in their school. "You are part of the student council. And you're my senior. But most of all, you're her friend." Rikka was well-known, but her reputation paled in comparison to the most popular person in their school.

Rikka looked off. "Yes, but I don't see why knowing Mana means I deserve respect attributed to her. And I hate all that stuff. Just call me Rikka." She looked back at Mai. "What's your name?"

Mai began fidgeting. "Mai. Mai Mishou. I'm a year below you." She was 14, which meant that Rikka was 15. "What is she like? Lady Aida, I mean. Or should I call her Lady Heart?"

"Cut it with the formal stuff. And you've probably heard what she's like. Hard working, generous, always willing to lend a helping hand. That's all accurate." Rikka recited it like a script she had read a dozen times before.

She had heard all of that of course. But there was another aspect of Mana Aida that she did not know as well, even if it was more famous. "I'm not surprised. But what about her other job? What is she like as Cure Heart?"

Rikka paused. That was a question that not many bothered to ask after hearing about Mana. And it wasn't a question she was well-equipped to answer. "If you're curious, you're better off asking her in person. Why don't you? She loves meeting others. It looks like she's done too." Indeed, they could see Mana waving off the tennis team as she was joined by a purple-haired girl. "Come on." Rikka motioned for Mai to follow.

Scrambling to put her supplies away, Mai got up quickly. "Hold on please." Both blue-haired girls walked over to Mana. All over the school sport students were finishing up, and bad students were being let off from their lectures. Everyone kept their distance from Mana, as if they felt they did not deserve to be in her presence.

Spotting them, Mana ran over to Rikka. "Rikka, how are you? Did you file all the forms? And who is she?" Mana still had plenty of energy despite having finished a round of tennis practice after she organized the student council's schedule for next week.

"I'm fine Mana. And yes, they're all in place. And she's Mai, one of your fans."

With blistering speed, Mana ran to Mai and shook her hands. "Nice to meet you. I'm Mana Aida, but I guess you already know me. Do you need anything? And please just refer to me as Mana. This isn't the place for formal stuff."

Mai did not know where to even start. One minute she was drawing like she usually was, and the next she was meeting the idol of the school. Not just the school, but the idol of the entire Trump Kingdom. It was surreal. "It's an honor to meet you Lady, I mean Miss Mana. I guess I was wondering what you're like. You're whole life I mean."

"Just Mana please. Well, it's really demanding. I have to organize the student council, be on the lookout for any fights, assist the clubs that need my help, and make sure everyone is happy. Then I need to finish all my homework, study for all our upcoming tests, and plan out the next festival. And I help out in my family's store sometimes. So it's a lot of work. But that's why it's great. I love being able to help out others in need, and when I see how thankful they are it's all worth it. Though I need to bug Rikka to help me sometimes. I feel kind of bad about that." Mana finally stopped to breathe.

"Just sometimes," Rikka dryly said.

Mai just blinked. She knew Mana was accomplished, but she managed all that on top of being one of the school's best students? And that didn't even take into account her duties as Cure Heart. Did she sleep? How could a person survive being that busy? "You are amazing. You manage all that on top of being Cure Heart." Mai could not imagine doing even a fraction of what Mana did. Just painting and drawing alone took up most of her free time.

Stopping to think for a second, Mana responded with just as much confidence. "To be honest, being a Pretty Cure is just a side thing for me. Cure Sword is the kingdom's main Cure, and she handles most things related to that. I just help out where I can."

"Of course," Rikka cut in. "You just have to be one of the princess's champions and help make the kingdom safer in your free time. No, that doesn't seem difficult at all."

"I couldn't do it without you and Makopi. Mai, if you're wondering how I manage, the key is to be organized and know who can help you. I need them as well. Learning how to operate on six hours of sleep helps as well, though I think being a Cure helps me with that." Mana knew what everyone thought of her, but it was unfair that she got all the credit.

"Mana, it's time to go!" the purple-haired girl called out. Rikka recognized her as Makoto Kenzaki one of Mana's student council assistants. She only transferred in earlier in the year, but apparently she had already known Mana. She was standing in front of a car. Of course Cure Heart would have access to one of the kingdom's magical vehicles. The driver, a tall deep blue-haired woman was tapping her hand on the vehicle.

Rikka was surprised. "Hold on. You didn't say you had to meet the princess today."

Mana's face had an apologetic look on it. "Sorry. I just got word of it a few minutes ago. I'll try and make it up to you tonight, alright?" She turned to Mai. "It was nice to meet you. Don't be afraid to come to me if you ever need any help. I don't bite." Finished, she ran off to Makoto, and the two got in the car. They took off to the palace, eventually leaving their sight.

Rikka sighed. "You see, she's great, but it can be hard to manage her at times."

Mai simply stared at where Mana just was, then at the hand she shook. "She really is amazing as they all say. You're lucky to be her friend."

Rikka just swayed a bit as the wind blew by them. "I suppose I am. I still can't see her operating without me. I suppose she'll find out soon though."

Mai wondered what that was about. "What do you mean?"

Silently, Rikka started to walk off. "Nothing you need to worry about. Why don't you finish your drawing? It looked nice." With that, she was gone, and Mai was all alone.

After meeting Cure Heart, Mai was not in the mood to draw something so simple, so she headed home. As she walked, people were bustling and working around her. There were some robots flying around cleaning up any messes on the ground. That was natural. The Trump Kingdom was rich and powerful after all, so they could afford the very best services, especially in the capital.

Reaching home, she found something in front of her door. Looking closer, it appeared to be a letter. It was an odd letter in the shape of a fountain. Picking it up, she headed inside. "I'm home." Her brother and father were there as well.

Kazuya was the first to greet her. "How was school today?" Her bother was looking at a map of the stars.

"Today was pretty interesting actually. I ran into Mana Aida. Cure Heart."

Her father was the first to ask the obvious question. "What was she like?"

"Energetic. Kind. Busy. I don't see how she survives with all that she does."

Kazuya looked up. "You certainly were a lucky one today. What's that?"

Mai held up the letter. "A letter that was in front of the door." Taking a look at it, she saw who it was addressed to, but no mention of who it was from. Strange. "It appears to be addressed to me."

Tearing it open she found nothing inside. After a few moments, she placed it on the table, unsure what to think of it. Suddenly, an image appeared something like a hologram of a woman or a fairy. Mai wasn't sure which it was. Her clothes were odd. For some reason, Mai felt nostalgic upon seeing her. Before anyone could do anything, the image began to speak. "Mai Mishou, I am Princess Filia of the Land of Fountains. I invite you to the Land of Fountains to partake in a ceremony only you can do. I have need of your services, so I ask you and only you to come as soon as possible. Thank you for your assistance and have a safe trip here." When the message ended the image disappeared.

All three people present just stared at where the image was a moment ago. Mai took the letter and shook it, but nothing else happened. She had no clue how to react. Eventually she said, "The Land of Fountains?"

Kazuya was the first to recover. "Isn't that all the way in the west? What would the ruler of that place want with Mai?"

Kouichirou closed his eyes. "I don't know. I don't believe we have ever been there either. Though I guess we once lived closer to there. Mai, do you have any idea?"

First she met Cure Heart, and now a strange letter had appeared calling her to a foreign location far away from home. It was inconceivable that she would actually go. She was perfectly happy here in the Trump Kingdom. She had her family, went to a good school, had some friends, and had plenty of fun with her drawings. To throw that away, even if only for a brief time, was surely madness. And yet, something called her to Filia. Maybe it was the feeling of having seen her before, or maybe it was simply the urge to see the important person that had singled her out for some reason. Whatever it was, she did not want to say no.

"What do I do?" Mai asked no one in particular. "What do I do?"

* * *

The girl was onstage in front of everyone. When she spoke, her words were heard by all. Every step she took, every tilt of the head, every movement of her hands, they were all seen by her audience. They were captivated by her performance, as she made her role appear lifelike.

At the back of the theater, a pink-haired girl listened. "She's good. Amazing actually. She really is the one we are looking for." Nodding her head, Nozomi Yumehara was certain of her declaration. "She is the kind of person we want, and even if she weren't I would still want to get to know her."

The girl right next to her shrugged her shoulders. "She may have talent at this, but that does not mean she is actually suitable. Maybe she won't even want to do it. Not everyone is going to love it as much as you do." Rin Natsuki was not going to let Nozomi get her expectations too high.

The performance continued as the girl they observed cried out in sadness, as her lover seemed to have abandoned her. Soon the play reached its climax, and one of the heroes had sacrificed his life for her. Even though the town had been saved, she was still sad. Sad for the loss of a dear one. While the rest of the town had hope for the future, all she had was despair. Then, the play ended.

The audience cheered wildly for all the actors, but most of all for the young actress who tugged at their heartstrings. Nozomi herself was crying. "That was so sad. It all felt so real."

Pinching her cheek, Rin snapped Nozomi back to reality. "Yes, I'm sure it did for you. It's time to move in. If Masuko's investigation was accurate, you'll likely have plenty of opportunities to see her performances."

As the theater emptied, the two went around to backstage. The crew was cleaning up, and the actors were all resting after their big performance. Several of them seemed to be congratulating the girl Nozomi and Rin had been observing.

Going up backstage, the two were stopped by a man. "Hold on. What are two doing? This is for official theater members only. If you want someone's autograph, you'll have to find them some other time.

Nozomi looked past him. She was still there. No need to make a spectacle. But she could still have fun. Rank had to have its privileges after all. "Ha ha. You don't recognize us? Perhaps this will change your mind." Nozomi held up the watch on her wrist.

The man blinked, not sure what she was supposed to be showing. When Nozomi realized she wasn't getting anywhere, she said, "Okay this will let us past." She rummaged through her clothes for the paper that would let her go anywhere in the Palmier Kingdom.

And she continued rummaging for a full minute without any success. Eventually she turned to Rin for help. The orange-haired girl sighed. "You forgot it didn't you." Nozomi nodded. "I should have expected that." She pulled out her own identification and showed it to him. "We're here to visit the leading lady."

Upon seeing the id, the man gasped. "My apologies mam. But what do what do you want with her?"

Nozomi strode past him. "Just an invitation. That's all." Reaching the blonde girl, she asked, "Could you come with me for a minute?" The girl looked at the man who blocked their way earlier, and he nodded. She got up, and they went into another room for privacy.

The girl turned to the man. "Washio, what do they want?" She was confused as to why she was being pulled aside by some girls barely older than her.

Her manager was sweating. "I think it's best if they introduce themselves."

Nozomi was excited. This was her chance to impress. "Urara Kasugano, my name is Nozomi Yumehara. At least, that is one of my names. My other name is Cure Dream. I am here to invite you to become a Pretty Cure beside me.

Neither Nozomi nor Rin knew exactly how big a person's eyes could get, but Urara probably set a record of how wide they got before she fainted on the spot. Washio scrambled to get her up.

Rin was irritated. "Great, you scared her. Didn't I tell you we should do this slower?" Rin was still not completely sold on the idea of the actress becoming a Cure, but if she and Nozomi could become one, perhaps the standards were not as high as she thought.

Waking up, Urara saw that they were still in front of her. Maybe she just imagined what pinky had said. "Could you repeat what you just said?"

"I am Nozomi, also known as Cure Dream. Rin and I want you to become a Pretty Cure." Nozomi was still smiling. "Are you okay? This is very real. I know this may be a shock, but I think you have the potential to be one of us. I remember having the same reaction when I was asked."

Rin had to correct her there. "I don't remember you being asked. More like chosen." She helped Urara stand up. "It may be best to ignore her. Most people are not on the same wavelength as Nozomi. I'm Rin Natsuki, but you have probably heard of me as Cure Rouge."

Urara dusted herself off, slightly embarrassed at what happened. Appearances were important to keep in an interview, especially an impromptu one. "Why do you want me? I'm just an actress."

Nozomi was concentrating on Rin. "What's the difference? The end result was the same." Her attention shifted back to Urara. "Why, you ask? Well I have a question for you. Do you have a dream? Do you have something you strive for? Do you have something you wish to accomplish?

Confused, Urara did not see the significance of that or what it had to do with being a Pretty Cure. "Yes. I want to become a famous actress. I want to be adored by all. I want to give everyone a performance they will remember forever. I want to be so great that the halls of Major Land are calling for me to perform."

Nodding, Nozomi was satisfied. "Exactly. That is what you need. Something to strive for. A goal that you want. That is what being a Pretty Cure is about."

Rin interrupted before Nozomi could continue. "You're confusing her. What she means is that you have a strong, pure heart that wants to bring happiness to everyone. Someone that is willing to put everything she has into doing good."

Nobody spoke for several minutes. The air was frozen, and no one made a move. Finally, Urara stepped to the side and began to hum. Her humming went up and down, from a high pitch to a low one and back up again. It was the only sound in the air. Nozomi nodded her head to the beat of the humming.

Eventually she finished. With that, she turned to her manager. "Washio, please finish packing my things." With that she started walking off.

Nozomi did not realize what she was doing. "Hold on, what's your answer?"

Right before exiting the room, Urara turned around. To Nozomi her hair, no, her entire body seemed to be shining. A pure girl that knew what she wanted to do. "I am flattered you think so highly of me. But I cannot join you. Like you said, I have my own dream to strive for, and I don't have the time to be part of your gang." With her declaration finished she and her manager exited.

Urara wondered if that was the right response. Becoming a Pretty Cure would have its own advantages. With it she would become an instant celebrity, known by all in Palmier and possibly the entire world. No theater would refuse to let her play. It might actually make her dream easier. But she could not see herself as one of those legendary warriors. To fight off dark forces took a certain kind of bravery, and she doubted she had that. And who knew if she could find the time to act while being a Cure. No, this was the correct path.

Someone ran after her. It was Nozomi. She looked a little pained, but not sad. In her hand she held a small card. "If that is your wish, then I won't stop you. But if you change your mind, then use this to come into Arbre Castle. I still think you would be great as one."

Urara accepted the card. Indeed, it was a pass into the castle. "Thank you. I don't think I will change my mind, but I appreciate the gesture."

Smiling, Nozomi turned to leave. Before she did, she asked, "Can I come see your plays at any time? You are really good."

Looking up, Urara only knew one way to respond to that. "Of course. Urara Kasugano never wants her fans to miss her performance." Then she left.

Nozomi was down as she and Rin exited the theater. "I was so certain she would jump at the chance."

Rin was mildly surprised that she had been right. "Like I said, this isn't for everyone. If you were any pushier she probably would have run off screaming. Don't force your ideas onto others."

"I know. But she would have been perfect as one. I'm allowed to hope aren't I? And I still do. I hope she changes her mind. But I also hope she chooses what she feels is right, no matter where it leads her.

* * *

Miyuki entered home silently. What exactly could she say? She had fun with the princess of Märchenland, got rescued by a Pretty Cure, got involved in a fight against some monster, and was now invited to join their ranks. It was a bit much to take in for one day.

Looking at what was in her hand, she confirmed she still had the pass. Cure March had said it would let her into the palace. The pass would let her become a Pretty Cure.

Her mom was already cooking dinner. Had that much time already passed? She looked at Miyuki. "Welcome home. What took you so long? I was starting to worry about you. Did something happen?"

Miyuki looked at the pass in her hand. Then she looked out the window. She could see the top of the palace from her house. Over there was where the Pretty Cure of Märchenland gathered. It was the home of the Royale Queen. It was the home of Candy. If she accepted, her life would be completely changed.

Miyuki responded to her mother clearly. "I'm going to become a Pretty Cure."

* * *

A/N

Welcome to my first Pretty Cure fic. This will be incorporating just about everything from Futari wa to DokiDoki. So this is going to be large. Next chapter will have some Nagisa and Honoka. Hope you enjoy.


	2. Among the Great

Among the Great

Lacheln Palace was right in front of Miyuki. Inside it housed the Royale Queen, ruler of Märchenland. It also housed Candy, a nice princess that befriended Miyuki. Right now she had the chance not only to meet her again, but to become something bigger. She could not imagine turning this chance away. To become one of them was sure to bring her happiness and joy. And then she could spread it to others, until there was no one left unhappy.

She showed her pass to the guard stationed at the door. The guard examined it, and then unlocked the door. For such a high security location, there was surprisingly little security. At least, Miyuki could not see anything. "Go in. Head straight, then take the first flight of stairs up two levels. You'll be where you need to be."

Nodding, Miyuki went in. The first room inside was huge. The palace was big on the outside, but standing under its ceiling let her appreciate just how magnificent it truly was. Jewels made of silver, gold, and diamond filled the sides. A few statues decorated the room, presumably Pretty Cure of the past. Bright lights made everything easy to see. Passages and corridors led to many different rooms, and Miyuki was sure she would get lost if she tried to explore it. Instead she followed the directions and went for the nearest stairs. Beyond it was a massive door maybe three stories tall locked down tight.

There was not a whole lot of activity going on. Some humans were running around to deliver messages, and a few fairies were chatting on the side. Miyuki didn't see Candy or Cure March. One of them was where she was directed to go. Hopefully. If they weren't then Miyuki really was going to get lost. That wouldn't be a happy first day as a Pretty Cure.

The stairs were long and tall, but easy to climb overall. The second floor was a little busier, with a few officials apparently eating a light snack. Did Lacheln Palace serve good food? She hoped so. Upon reaching the third floor, she found it was even more deserted then the lower levels.

Three people were sitting around a table, playing some sort of card game. One of them was Candy. The second was a slightly bigger fairy, but still diminutive compared to Miyuki. The last was a girl with red hair. She seemed somewhat familiar. Apparently she had lost the game, as she threw down her cards in frustration.

The girl was the first to spot her. "Yo. So you're the new recruit Nao was talking about. I heard you got into a bit of a mess with her highness yesterday."

Candy looked up when she heard that and put a big grin on her face. "Miyuki!" She dropped her cards (apparently she had been holding them with her ears) and ran straight at Miyuki. Jumping up, she nearly collided with Miyuki's face again before she caught the fairy. "I was worried you wouldn't come."

Miyuki held Candy close. "Now why wouldn't I come? It's amazing. I would love to live in a place even a tenth of this size. It would make me feel like Cinderella herself. Have you met her? I saw her once. Her dress was just as pretty as the stories said. I think she wasn't wearing her glass slippers though."

The other girl approached Miyuki. "Sounds like someone knows her fairy tales. I'm Akane Hino. I'd tell you my Cure name, but since you've already met March, you can probably figure out who I am."

Who was she? That shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Not counting Miyuki herself, Märchenland had three Cures. She obviously wasn't March, and she wasn't the famous one either, otherwise Miyuki would have recognized her on the spot. This left only one. What was her Cure name again? Miyuki cursed her bad memory, especially at a critical point like this.

Miyuki was pretty sure she had the name right this time. "I'm Miyuki Hoshizora. This is my first time here. You of course, are Cure Scorch."

Silence filled the room. Akane and both fairies stared at her for what felt like eternity. Okay, she probably got the name wrong again. This was not the introduction she could have hoped for. Akane burst out laughing. "Good one. Nao said you were bad with names, but I didn't realize you were such a jokester. We are going to get along well. Be aware though, I'm the top comedian in this place, and don't you dare try to dethrone me."

"Sunny, please don't bully Miyuki."

Akane was still chuckling. "All right. Nice save by the way. Tell me about yourself Miyuki."

Miyuki was grateful for Candy's assistance. Forgetting one Cure's name, that could happen to anyone in the heat of the moment. Not knowing a second just made her look foolish. Thankfully March wasn't here to see that. "I moved here from Alsfeld in the north about two weeks ago, so I don't know the area all that well. Thankfully an old friend of mine lives here, so it wasn't too bad. Like you said, I love fairy tales. Those old stories and the lessons hidden in them just feel really meaningful, especially how they tend to come out into real life."

Snapping her fingers, Akane interrupted her. "Shoot, now I know where I recognize you from." Instead of elaborating, she continued on her own train of thoughts. "Let me guess, you were always intrigued by the tales the kingdom produces, so you wanted to come here to Mythus and become a writer yourself."

That prospect had never crossed Miyuki's mind, but it didn't seem like a bad idea. "Not exactly. We moved here because of my father's job, that's all."

"That's it? No funny incident or tragedy that brought you here?" Akane seemed disappointed.

"Ignore her. Sometimes that's the best way to get her off your case." The other fairy had finally joined them.

"Ah, lighten up a bit." Akane barely dodged a card that was thrown right at her head. "All right, I get it."

Jumping down, Candy introduced the fairy. "This is Pop, my big brother. He likes to act all serious, but it's not too hard to make him lighten up. He really likes it when you call him cute."

Pop seemed irritated at this statement. "Candy, I've said this countless times, that is an inappropriate assertion for a man such as I."

Stars appeared in Miyuki's eyes. "So adorable. You look like you would be a great mascot in a story." Pop scowled at that assertion. "Of course, you also look really cool. Like, I'd bet you're a great sidekick to the Pretty Cure and are all sorts of awesome in battle."

His face softened upon hearing that. "Well, I suppose I could be. Though battles are not really my place. That's more of her line of duty," he said pointing to Akane.

"Someday you're going to have to actually back that up," Akane replied. "Sure, Nao said you're a good sparring partner, but I don't recall you doing anything of the sort since I got here."

Miyuki was surprised that they had taken her idea at face value at all. "You can fight? I don't believe I've heard of fairies that fight at the level of Cures." Something Candy said earlier finally reached Miyuki's mind. "Hold on. I thought Candy was the sole child of the Royale Queen. When did she gain a brother? I didn't think I did that bad in class."

"Pop was basically the one that raised Candy," Akane said. "Apparently he got stuck with babysitting duties since her mother didn't know how to raise her. Candy got attached to him, and they've been together forever since. Worked out well for him too, seeing how he's one of the only people who gets to see the queen these days."

Coughing, Pop seemed to avert his head. "Please don't refer to raising Candy as babysitting. It's unbefitting of what I went through. Besides, even with some problems, Candy is a good girl."

Candy hopped right over to Pop. "I was always good right? I don't want to cause you problems, but you don't play with me as much these days. It's getting boring."

Pop patted her on the head. "You're growing up now, and I've ended up with a lot more responsibilities than I intended. I'll still be there for you, and you're already making new friends."

"Apparently she hasn't grown up fast enough." A new, but familiar voice entered the room. Turning around, Miyuki saw a tall girl with dark green hair walking in holding a pink object. "And here I thought eight-year old fairies were more mature than that."

Akane headed over to greet her. "Don't be so hard on her Nao. I know I'd go crazy if I was cooped in here all the time forced to learn royalty stuff. What's wrong with a little fun occasionally."

"You weren't around when we were panicking and had no idea where she was. Personally, I'd rather not tell the queen that something happened to her daughter." Looking at Candy, then Miyuki, Nao went right for a chair and sat down. "Sorry, but I had to deal with some people arguing over whose fault it was that they're house was damaged during yesterday's attack. We need to get some people to handle that. Looks like you came after all. We've already met, but I'm Nao Midorikawa."

Miyuki may not have been good with names, but she could remember faces and voices at least. "Thanks for the help yesterday. I never managed to introduce myself did I? I'm Miyuki Hoshizora, and I am here to become a Pretty Cure."

Akane walked over to Nao. "Guess what happened when she came in today?" She whispered into Nao's ear, and her serious face twitched just a bit. "I know; it was hilarious. If only I could have gotten a picture of her face when she realized she messed up my name."

"Well, I was pretty close right? There are plenty of Cures out there. I bet there was one named Scorch sometime in the past." Miyuki was trying to save face, but she was already wondering if she was going to become the laughingstock of the Cures.

Sighing, Nao took a bottle of water and gulped down a bunch before moving on. "Please tell me you at least know who our last member is."

Of course Miyuki knew who that person was. Not knowing her would be like not knowing who Cure Moonshine the Dragonslayer was. At least, she could probably pick out the right name from a batch. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the one that everyone had cheered for. The one known as Ice Blade and Beautiful Hero. That was it. "Come on, even I know who Cure Beauty is."

Akane seemed mildly disappointed. "Darn it. Now I can't make fun of you for messing up her name."

"Stop teasing Miyuki like that." Candy was defensive of Miyuki, though she was glad Miyuki had gotten at least one name right.

"Even I have to get one right eventually. Come to think of it, where is Beauty anyway?" Miyuki was anxious to meet the most famed Pretty Cure of Märchenland, who single-handedly destroyed the Ice Demons that had tried to freeze the western portion of the kingdom.

Nao was the one to answer that. "Reika is off right now on some diplomatic mission in the Sweets Kingdom and Land of Clocks. She is due back pretty soon though. I certainly don't envy her for going on those trips."

Akane seemed less sympathetic. "Oh poor Reika, who has to travel to the Sweets Kingdom and get treated to the best desserts in the world while representing an entire nation. Surely that is a terrible fate."

"Trust me; it's not as fun as it sounds. I did one once, and I had the jitters for weeks thinking that I angered Palmier." Nao stopped before she pulled up any more bad memories. "But that's not important right now. Here Miyuki, take this." She tossed the pink object to Miyuki, and she just barely caught it.

The object shined brightly in Miyuki's hands. "What is this? It feels kind of warm, like how you feel all fuzzy on the inside when a story reaches its happy ending."

Nao looked on in approval. "That's a Smile Pact, the symbol of the Pretty Cure of Märchenland. It seems like it has accepted you as a Cure, just like the princess has. With that, it seems you really are eligible to become one of us."

Warmth spread throughout her body, as if a candle lit inside her heart. For a split second she felt powerless compared to energy contained within the Smile Pact. Then the energy seemed to flow into her and become part of her. Miyuki could only hear one word during the process, happy. Was she happy at becoming a Cure, or did that word symbolize something else?

Standing right in front of her, Akane snapped Miyuki awake. "You awake? Good. So what's your name?"

Pausing to collect her thoughts, Miyuki felt normal again. She felt more powerful and energetic, but otherwise she was the same person she was before. "I'm not sure, but I feel really happy right now."

Nao had gotten up and extended her hand. "It'll come to you. Welcome to the Pretty Cure. Since you are one of us now, I guess that means you're entitled to some questions about what we do."

Taking Nao's hand, Miyuki shook it. She had no idea what she was supposed to ask, so she decided to start with what she had seen yesterday. "What was that monster, and where did it come from?"

"That was an Akanbe, a monster from the Bad End Kingdom. They've been harassing us for months now, though I couldn't tell you why. Sure, we've never gotten along exactly, but recently they've been getting more and more aggressive." Nao had anticipated that question. "In fact they're the reason I want you. I suspect something big is going to happen soon, and the more of us there are, the better."

The Bad End Kingdom was Märchenland's northern neighbors, and historically they had been enemies for decades, if not centuries, but Miyuki wasn't sure on the details of their animosity. "Why do they hate us? What is the point of attacking randomly? How do they get Akanbe all the way to the capital? Why do you just stand here and not do anything to them?"

"Slow down," Akane said. "We'll get you up to speed as much as we can. But first, I think you should sit down and realize what you're a part of now."

Miyuki looked at Akane, then Nao, Pop, and Candy. They all had welcoming smiles on their faces. Looking down at her Smile Pact, Miyuki realized she had just accomplished what most girls could only dream of. "I am a Pretty Cure now."

* * *

Normally when Hibiki Hojo was waiting, she got anxious and could not stop moving. If it was something important, she would play on the piano in private to relieve her pent-up stress. If Kanade was bothering her again, she had to find a place to play that she did not know of, and that was increasingly rare. When Hibiki realized she had become Cure Melody, she didn't even bother with the instruments and went running and eventually started to hit things. Stress was not something she could deal with well.

So while what she was waiting for did not directly affect her, she understood why Hummy and Siren were restless. Learning who would be this year's songstress of Major Land was always a stressful time, and the two fairy cats were jumping all over each other, Hibiki, and Kanade. Hummy's tail was in fact swishing right in Hibiki's face. "All right settle down you two. Acting like this won't bring out the result any faster."

Hummy was still jittering even as she leapt off Hibiki. "But today is the big day. Maybe this year I was chosen. If that happened, I don't even know what I'd say."

Kanade Minamino made a grab for the white cat, but was too slow as Hummy ran into Siren. "Okay, here is the deal. Stay put until we get the results, and I'll make some cookies just for you two."

"Can I get some too?" Hibiki always enjoyed Kanade's sweets.

"I said it's for them, not someone who always takes some without even bothering to ask," Kanade replied. "Besides, they're already worried, and they'll worry even more if they think you'll steal their snacks."

The black cat seemed insulted. "Worry? I'm not worried in the least. I've been the songstress for several years now, and I cannot imagine my position going to someone else." Despite what she said Siren was just as jittery as her fellow fairy.

"You probably don't need to worry Siren," Hummy said. "Your audition was just as good as it was last year. But still there's always the chance it could be me. That would be so exciting, getting to sing in front of the entire kingdom. Hibiki, who do you think will win?"

The pink-haired girl did not consider herself the best judge of a fairy's singing voice. "Don't know. Maybe it won't be either of you. There are plenty of other candidates after all, and the competition seemed really strong."

"Have a little faith in them," Kanade said. "We both know that Siren is the greatest singer in Major Land, and she's been giving Hummy lessons this past year. There's no way it's not one of them."

"I do have faith in them. I just don't think anything should be taken as a guarantee. Maybe Mephisto and Aphrodite wanted to change things up this year. Or are you just saying that to be contrary?"

"Don't accuse me of being contrary. You always think I say stuff to disagree with you, but I think that you're too stupid to accept when I am right."

Hummy's worries became distracted upon hearing the two argue. "What are you two arguing about? Today is supposed to be a special day, not a day where we keep fighting."

Calming down, Siren was also not in the mood to hear the two girls duke it out. "For once I agree with Hummy. Let's not have a repeat of your last concert. I doubt that will leave a good impression on the princess."

Memories of the last concert she played with Kanade flared up in Hibiki's mind before she could shut it off. "Not my fault if Kanade hit the wrong note."

Kanade also remembered that day a month ago. "I would do perfectly fine if you didn't speed up without warning. Consider that not everyone can naturally match your pace for once."

"If you two lovebirds are finished, then it's time for you to come up." The new voice came from Falsetto of the Three Musketeers. Dressed in his formal outfit and purple cape, he was ready for the ceremony.

"We're not lovebirds!" shouted both of them at the same time.

"But you shout with perfect harmony," Hummy said. "Isn't that a sign?" Had Hummy been any older, Hibiki might have attempted to strangle her right there.

"That was just some dumb rumor someone made up," replied Hibiki. Standing up she walked over to join Falsetto. After a second, Kanade joined right behind her. "See you onstage, whoever wins."

The three disappeared, leaving the cats to themselves. Siren snickered. "When I made that up, I didn't expect it to last this long, nor did I think it would be so accurate."

Blinking, Hummy was surprised. "Wait, you started that rumor?"

Siren sat down, turning her eyes to the curtains in front of them. "Honestly, it was just a prank. Seeing them get all riled up was just a bonus. Now don't you mention this to them."

Hummy nodded as if she understood. For a while they waited in silence for the curtains to rise with the result. Once every year, a competition was held among the fairies of Major Land to see who would be the songstress for the year. In addition to the fame and prestige it gave, it also meant they were seen as qualified to sing the kingdom's greatest work, the Melody of Happiness. It was a beautiful song, mean to symbolize the strength, peace, and joy of not only the kingdom, but of music itself.

"Siren, what will you do if I win?" Hummy was curious, since this year she had given it her all with the help of her friend's training.

"Haven't considered it. We all know that I am the best fit for the position. You are just my apprentice in the art, while I am the undisputed master." Siren believed debating over the result was merely a formality, even if it seemed to be taking longer than last year.

Hummy didn't mind the boast. There was a reason Hummy had gone to her for help, and it wasn't only because they were friends.

Finally, the curtains opened, revealing the stage in all its glory. It was filled with musicians of all sorts, from humans playing their violins and harps, to musical fairies playing themselves. Front and center were Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm, transformed and standing at attention. The Three Musketeers were standing at the sides, also at attention.

On a balcony above the stage, the King and Queen of Major Land walked out to greet their subjects. Eight Fairy Tones floated around them. The audience cheered upon seeing them. Aphrodite stepped up. "Fairies of Major Land, every year we hold this competition to determine our songstress. All of you have made a great effort to represent our kingdom, and I am proud of each and every one of you."

Mephisto stepped up to continue. "It was hard to choose only one among so many great song fairies, but we managed to find the best of the best. This year our daughter will be announcing the results."

As Ako Shirabe, Princess of Major Land, joined her parents, the audience went wild. Her orange hair was bright as ever, and her clothes reflected her regality. Seeing the royal family together was always a treat for the citizenry. Siren was also excited. "It seems I'll be named by the princess." She got up, anticipating her name to be called.

Smiling, Ako looked over the stage and audience. The music had quieted, though it was still playing a soft melody. The audience of over a thousand people was on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear her voice. In the front were the esteemed song fairies, all of whom trained their eyes on her.

"I am pleased to announce this year's songstress. Hummy, congratulations. You have been chosen to sing the Melody of Happiness this year. Cure Melody, Cure Rhythm, please escort her to the Melody."

Siren had already started walking when she heard the winner. Unable to even speak, all she could do was stutter in shock as Hummy ran on stage to the Cures. Melody whispered, "Congratulations" to her. Rhythm gave a small nod in agreement. Ako summoned a musical staircase up to the balcony the royal family was on. Walking in between the two Cures, Hummy made her way up to the princess.

Ako presented Hummy the book that contained the most important score in the kingdom. Opening it, the cat glanced over the melody. She couldn't believe it. After all the hard work, endless hours of practice, and uncertainty she went through, she finally had earned the greatest prestige a song fairy could earn. Hummy believed Siren was proud of her.

The mood on the front seat was different from what everyone else felt. Siren was still frozen, not truly accepting her ears and eyes. Another bitter song fairy took this chance to mock her. "Looks like you were used well Siren. I guess you won't be giving her any more tutoring lessons."

Snapping out of her shock, Siren ran away. She ran as fast as she could out of the auditorium, ignoring anyone that glanced at her. Hummy had won. Hummy was chosen, and she was not. That should not have been possible. Siren had taught Hummy many tricks, but far from all she knew. Did Hummy discover a secret that the royal family preferred? That could not be it; Siren had seen the audition and didn't hear anything out of the ordinary.

Siren was no longer the songstress. After all this time, her position had been snatched by the one she trusted the most. Melody and Rhythm would shower her with praise, and all the glory would go to Hummy. Her heart and soul ached in sorrow.

* * *

Standing under the Sky Tree always made Saki feel tiny. It was huge, probably twice as large as any of the surrounding trees. It must have been centuries old in order to get so tall and for so many branches to sprout. Strangely, even though there was room all over it, no creature had made the Sky Tree its home. There were no bird nests laying on the branches, and small animals avoided chipping away at it, like they respected the ancient tree.

Either way, Saki liked coming to it. The tree made her feel at ease with how peaceful it seemed. Whenever she was stressed out or just wanted to get away from everyone, this was where she preferred to go. Sitting under it made her want to forget all her troubles and relax. That was not quite the reason she came though.

"I'm leaving today. I never thought my parents would actually allow me to go. Princess Filia must be an important person if they're agreeing to follow her wishes. I'm not sure what this is going to be like. I mean I've never been outside town for more than a few days. This is probably going to take a couple of weeks, depending on what she wants." Aside from being relaxing, Saki found the tree an excellent place to relieve worries. It may not have talk back to her, but she felt it listened anyway.

"Talking to yourself are you now?" Spinning around, Saki saw Kenta coming up behind her. He was holding his hands behind his back. "Are you really leaving Yuunagi?"

"It's just going to be for a little while, that's all," Saki said. "I can't imagine being gone for more than a month."

Kenta was unable to parse any words for a few moments. After that he quietly said, "Fine. Maybe I'll finally get some peace and quiet around here. Take your time."

"Did I hear something rude? Because I'm pretty sure I did. I'm not interested in your jokes right now." Saki was not in the mood to be irritated by the boy today.

"You're just leaving all of a sudden without any warning whatsoever," Kenta snapped back. "How exactly should I react?"

Saki threw her hands up in frustration. "Are you blaming me? The reason I'm leaving is a sudden invitation. Not something I could really plan for. What does it matter to you anyway?"

Turning around and keeping his hands out of Saki's vision, Kenta stormed off. "Maybe you should consider what I think!" Saki could briefly see he held a flower in his hands.

"I'll never understand him. Now he wants me to be a mind reader." Venting her frustrations was going to be one of the things she missed. Hopefully she would not encounter anyone that would be as difficult to understand as him.

Heading home, she wandered what the trip was going to be like. The Land of Fountains wasn't all the way across the world, but it would probably take at least a week to get there. She would probably be stopping at other villages along the way, if only for new supplies. That would mean she would meet even more new people. Maybe they would be oddballs like those Clover dancers, or maybe they would be a lot like the people in Yuunagi. Either way, she was sure it would be exciting.

Her bag was already packed, filled with clothes, food, and whatever else her parents thought she might need. Her mother was looking through it one last time to make sure she had everything. "Saki, is there anything else you need?"

"No mom, I'm good." Picking up her bag, she finished her leftover bread. Might as well start off on a full stomach. "The carriage is here right?"

Her father came in. "We were lucky to be able to hire one on such a short notice. It should be a straight trip there with only a couple stops along the way."

Minori pulled on her older sister's shirt. "Saki, why are you going away?"

Saki pulled away. "It's exciting to see the rest of the world. This town is nice, but it's also getting stale. Even for a little bit, I want to spice up my life. Well, that and some important person wants me, but who knows why."

Walking out the door, she found Hitomi and Yuuko waiting outside. "We wanted to see you off," Hitomi said.

"Good luck on your travels," Yuuko said.

"Thanks. To be honest, while exciting, it's also a little nerve-wracking, being so far away from home. At least you guys know how to say goodbye, unlike a certain someone."

Yuuko glanced away with a troubled expression on her face. "I saw Kenta running off looking really sad. Do you know anything about that?"

"Not a clue." Saki was not interested in thinking about him. At least her good friends didn't get angry because she was taking a trip.

The carriage was a short distance away. It wasn't too big, probably big enough to hold four people. A single horse was attached to it. The driver, a large overweight man wearing a knit hat, was sitting on the side. "Guess we couldn't get the highest quality service," Saki mumbled.

Gamao looked up at his soon-to-be passenger. "So you're the girl that wants to go to that fountain place. Get in; we don't have all day."

Saki found him rude to be trying to get her in. She hadn't even said her goodbyes yet. "Give me a minute." She hugged her two friends. "I'll miss both of you. Hopefully I can bring some gift back for you."

Hitomi chuckled. "You said you'd only be gone for a short time. I expect you to keep that promise at least."

"Try not to do anything foolish," Yuuko said. "Make sure to make up with him when you get back."

Saki separated from them. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She walked over to her mother and father, who embraced her at the same time. "I'll make sure to be safe. You still make the best bread after all."

Her mother seemed to be on the edge of crying. "Remember to stay safe, and don't be afraid to come back if you run into trouble."

Her father seemed to be taking it slightly better. "Saki is a big girl now. She'll be fine. Still, remember to avoid fights and be friendly to everyone you meet. Having friends all around will help if you ever leave again."

"Noted. And I'll also remember to tell them to come to Pankakapan if they ever come here." Finally, Saki went to her sister. "Be a good girl and take care of mom and dad while I'm away. Make sure no one, and I mean no one, takes my stuff."

"…Bring me a gift too, and I'll promise not to take any of your stuff too." Minori couldn't resist a bit of teasing.

"Don't push your luck." Minori squeezed Saki tighter until she pulled her sister off her. "Maybe a miniature fountain. Or perhaps a fairy." Pulling back, Saki declined to look at everyone, lest she start regretting leaving. "See you in a few weeks."

Gamao stood and started loading his belongings onto the carriage. "About time. Since you actually have a destination, you'll be dropped off first. Probably."

Apparently she wasn't the only person taking a ride with this fellow. Looking in, she was surprised to see the Clover dancers she had recently met waiting inside. Love spotted her first. "Bread girl, what are you doing here?"

Miki pinched Love on the cheek. Tarte nipped her leg. Inori sighed. "Her name is Saki, Love. Try to remember people by their names and not how they feed you."

Love pulled away from Miki while throwing Tarte onto Inori, who reflexively knocked the ferret to the floor of the carriage. Inori apologized profusely as Tarte wiggled in exaggerated pain. "My bad," Love said. "Names can sometimes be difficult to place, especially when you meet so many people. But seriously, what are you doing here? You better not be trying to run away from home. Tarte here has done enough of that."

If Inori wasn't holding the ferret, he would have scratched her face. Instead, he decided to ignore her for the next hour. Saki was still bewildered by the dancers. "Ah, actually I've received an invitation to the Land of Fountains."

Love nodded while twirling her hair. "The Land of Fountains. I don't believe we've been there before. Have we Miki? Perhaps we should go there." Love trusted Miki's memory far better than her own.

Miki leaned back. "No we have not. It would be a nice place to go though, if she does not mind us, especially since our esteemed leader forgot to actually plan any specifics." She gave Saki a quizzical stare.

On one hand, Filia had said to come alone. On the other hand, she probably only meant that when actually seeing her, and having some company would sure beat travelling alone. Saki smiled widely. "Of course".

"We're moving now," Gamao shouted back. "I'm supposed to read you safety policies, but I figure you should know them." He felt he wasn't getting paid enough to justify more effort than necessary.

"Well someone seems grumpy today," Miki said quietly. She was perfectly aware how to behave while travelling of course, but it seemed their driver did not.

Saki sat down next to Inori after placing her bag in the back. "This may get bumpy, so try to keep your head up." Inori tried to make her as comfortable as possible in the cramped carriage.

"Sure." Settling down, she felt the ferret sniff her, and apparently he deemed her adequate because he lied down on her legs. "So you don't actually have a destination in mind?"

"Peach said it already, but we're just simple travelers, wandering from place to place with nothing except what's on our backs," Tarte said.

"Though sometimes we prefer moving without getting blisters on our feet, like now for instance," Miki said.

The carriage jolted and started moving. This was it, Saki thought. She was headed away from her home town and everyone she knew for a period of excitement. She wasn't scared, but instead intrigued. Whatever lay ahead for her was sure to be fascinating.

Love simply had a cheerful grin on her face. The more the merrier was what she believed, even if it held a slight risk of their secret getting out. "Even if it's only for a short time, welcome to our group."

* * *

Rin always felt awkward when she was in Arbre Castle for an extended length of time. Even when she was among people her own age, they were invariably rich or noble kids who naturally had the right to come in. Had she not been a Cure, she doubted she would have ever stepped foot inside the walls of the castle, as it was she was uncomfortable. She was not inclined to the atmosphere and etiquette here. If it was up to her, she would only come when officially asked to.

Yet here she was, sitting in the castle, listening to the teacher lecture about history. Nozomi had insisted that they come to his special classes, and she didn't want to do it without someone she knew. When Rin first heard Nozomi's request, she thought Nozomi was pulling her leg. Nozomi was a complete ditz who often had a hard time staying awake in class, and her grades on her best days were not something to envy. Considering who the teacher was, Rin shouldn't have been surprised.

King Coco, currently in human form, was currently wrapping up his lecture. "That's why the five kingdoms united into one, which is the Palmier Kingdom we all know today. I think that's enough for today. Next week we'll talk about inter-kingdom relations." The small class was done for the day.

Packing up her supplies, Rin saw Nozomi was still writing what he had said. "Nozomi, time to go."

Nozomi finished writing when Coco called for her. "Nozomi, can you come down for a second?"

That got her attention. Scrambling, she got everything in her bag as fast as she possibly could and raced down towards her teacher/king. Rin wasn't interested in what he had to say, so she waited outside. The other students avoided her as they left. Rin wasn't able to tell is it was because she wasn't a noble like they were, or if they were intimidated by Cure Rouge. Nor was she certain which explanation she disliked more.

A few minutes later Nozomi and Coco came out of the room. Nozomi had a slight blush on her cheeks while Coco was his usual smiling self. "See you later Nozomi. Keep up the good work." With that, Coco left.

"Do I want to know what happened?" Rin asked. It was apparent to her that Nozomi had a thing for the king. Rin hoped that Coco didn't know, as that would likely make things awkward.

"He said I was starting to show significant improvement, and that I got over 30% of questions right. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this." Many things could be said about Nozomi, but no one was calling her a genius anytime soon.

"At least there's some improvement coming from you. Maybe this will get you to study the world a bit more." Rin started walking to the exit. "I still don't get why he does these classes anyway. He's one of the kings; he should have more important stuff to do."

"He feels that it's important to keep in touch with us youngsters, and what better way to do that then to teach them," said the girl who often found it difficult to care about her own studies. "Besides, he enjoys it. Even kings need to take a break from all that kinging I imagine."

"I suppose." Rin did find the classes interesting at least, even when they covered a topic that they had already gone over in her normal class. Coco tended to go into more detail.

Nozomi wanted to shift the conversation away from him. Her thoughts tended to get messed up when thinking about him "By the way Rin, how is the design going?"

By design, she meant the jewel Rin was making on the side. "Fine, though I'm not sure where I should go with it. Also, didn't I tell you not to mention that in public?" Rin didn't want her secret hobby getting exposed, especially when she wasn't very good.

"Do I hear secrets that need reporting? Because Mika here is ready to publish any and all juicy secrets you may have." Mika Masuko suddenly appeared, apparently waiting in ambush for the two girls.

Rin was irritated upon seeing the reporter. "No, you don't. And if you don't want a melted notepad, I recommend keeping it that way." After the failed recruitment the day before, she was not in the mood to see the person who sent them to Urara.

Mika quickly put her notepad and pen away. "I hear you. What happened with Kasugano anyway? I haven't heard anything about her, so I'm guessing she didn't accept."

Looking down, Nozomi replied. "She said she wasn't interested. Something about not having the time. Honestly, I understand that, but I still can't grasp why she didn't join on. Who wouldn't want to become a Pretty Cure?"

"Someone with sense. Even in peaceful times like these, there's still formal duties we may need to attend. Who knows when another monster will come out of nowhere, and when that happens we'll have to drop what we're doing to take care of it. That's not something an actress can do easily and still be successful." Rin did not mind being a Cure herself, but she could easily see why it wasn't for everyone. "What I want to know is why she was chosen in the first place."

Mika realized that question was for her, considering she was the one who identified Urara as a possible candidate in the first place. "Nozomi had been talking about how Pretty Cure should be young girls with idealism, cheerfulness, and determination. When I was investigating the theaters to find a good play for their majesties, I found Urara Kasugano, a girl who by the age of 13 had already become a successful actress and was apparently still a nice person who treated others with kindness. Such behavior is rare in that business, so I figured you might want to look at her."

"So Nozomi was filling your head with false ideas. Stop listening to her and you'll probably get better results. I'm not sure Karen or Komachi fit that description well, and I know I'm not the cheerful type." Rin wasn't surprised that Nozomi had been blabbing her thoughts out loud.

For her part, Nozomi was surprised Mika had actually listened. "Huh, maybe I should become a motivational speaker. Rin, I think you and the others fit in your own ways. From what I heard, so did Urara."

Rin was unsure if there even were qualifications to be a Pretty Cure besides being good and female, and even those were shaky based on some of the stories she heard. Intelligence certainly wasn't one. "Enough about her. She was given the opportunity and turned it down. End of story. Let's get something to eat. I heard a good donut cart recently came to town." The word donut got Nozomi's attention, and she started racing to the exit. "Wait up!"

Elsewhere in Arbre Castle, another rather more serious meeting was going on. Komachi Akimoto was part of it, and she wished she wasn't. As one of the senior Cures of Palmier, she was expected to partake in these sessions, but she felt there was not much she could contribute to the discussion. Plus there were other activities she would rather be doing.

Thankfully the meeting today was small, so she was able to participate a little bit without being overwhelmed. It was just King Nuts (in his tiny fairy form), his attendant, herself, Karen, and the four fairy dukes. Nuts motioned for the subject to change. "I believe we should discuss whether or not we should start increasing ties with Märchenland. For years we have quietly ignored each other, but it's time we renewed trading with them."

Donut, one of the dukes, shook his head. "Why should we? There is no need to deal with a kingdom that once tried to subvert us, and they have nothing we need."

"That happened centuries ago," Montblanc pointed out. "Besides, they are the most powerful nation besides Palmier, so it would be beneficial to stabilize out relationship."

"The Royale Queen is still ruling is she not?" Crepe said. "Old rulers rarely change their ways, and I have little doubt that she would try again if given the chance. Not to mention that no one from Palmier has seen her in years, so approaching her would be an issue. And then there was that Cure March, one of the worst diplomats I've ever seen."

Komachi saw the obvious hole in that logic. "Then we find a better person to approach. I hear Cure Beauty is making an attempt to reach out to other nations. She would likely be happy to talk with us."

Nuts agreed with Komachi. "I hear Beauty is an honest person who welcomes all who come in good faith. We'll go to her."

"Another politically active Pretty Cure," Donut mumbled. "Look like they're branching out these days. Why don't we ask the person who has actually met her?"

All eyes shifted to Karen. She closed her eyes for a moment to remember what the ice Cure had been like. "Cure Beauty was polite when I met her, but she also seemed a bit cold, as if she did not want to meet me longer than necessary. She didn't invite me to meet her queen, which says to me that we don't deserve to meet her. We could probably make a deal with her, but I do question whether it would be worth the effort."

Bavarois saw this as a chance to jump into the conversation. "Well that seems just rude of her. Imagine if another Cure came to visit our great halls. I would certainly ask them to meet Coco or Nuts if at all possible, and in fact I would not take no for an answer." Everyone else groaned when she began talking. "Really, if they are worth our attention, then they would find it more appropriate to approach us. I'm saying that they should take the effort to give us the respect we deserve. I would like to visit someday though; I hear their taste in architecture is simply exquisite, and their stories really are second to none."

Nuts interrupted Bavarois before she could ramble any further. "Alright, I see that Märchenland isn't too popular right now. Moving on, what else do we have on the agenda Milk?"

Nuts' personal attendant looked at the schedule that had been put together. "There seems to an uprising in monster attacks lately in the south. Currently it is not beyond the capabilities of what the soldiers stationed there can handle, but attacks are being reported more frequently."

"Is there a known reason for the increased attacks?" Karen asked. "Monsters don't appear out of nowhere after all."

"None is known right now," Milk said. "Apparently the best guess we have is that someone is releasing them to cause havoc, but there are no clues as to who it could be."

"A shady person or group is creating chaos?" Crepe questioned. "Sounds unlikely to me. Who would want to do that?"

Komachi recalled hearing about such a group. "Perhaps it's Dark Fall," she said quietly.

All eyes turned to her when she didn't elaborate. Komachi instantly regretted saying that when there was nothing except a sketchy report to base her theory on. "Please continue," Nuts said.

"Alright. Um, I remember someone mentioning to me that Dark Fall is a destructive group that enjoys the suffering of others. It's not actual proof or anything, just an idle thought."

Nuts considered this. "Dark Fall. What do we know about them?"

"They're a recently formed organization just below the southern border of Palmier," Karen answered. "Apparently it's been a haven for criminals and other unscrupulous types, but as they've only recently come together we know very little about them."

"Then we should launch an investigation into them soon," Nuts decided. "Remind me to handle that later Milk." The pink fairy nodded and wrote that down. "Is there anything else we have to discuss?"

"Just confirm a trade agreement with the Garden of Light," Milk said.

Bavarois began talking again. "Ah, the Garden of Light, now that is a place that has a reasonable ruler. Why, I like their queen, much more open about talking to us. It makes me comfortable knowing that they respect us, though I do wish their Cures were more open to us."

"Perhaps their Cures wish to stay private," Montblanc interrupted. Everyone gave him a thankful look for stopping another long spiel. "I am curious though, what do we know about them?"

Silence filled the room for a minute, as they realized not a whole lot was known about the Pretty Cure of the Garden of Light. Komachi knew there were two of them and their names, but that was it. They were unlike Palmier's Cures, who were open with their identities and what they did for the people.

"We really know little about them," Karen said. "All we know is their names. We don't even have any descriptions about their appearances. Although, I recently managed to come across their civilian identities. Cure White is Honoka Yukishiro." Karen paused as Milk wrote the name down.

Komachi recognized the Yukishiro name. There had been a Yukishiro Pretty Cure in the Garden of Light sometime in the past. Nuts also recognized the name. "I see that line continued. Do you have the other one?"

Karen nodded. "Yes. Cure Black is Yuka Odajima."

* * *

Rikka was tired from stress. Packing her things was stressful enough without other people constantly looking over her, and she still was wandering who was coming with her. "Raquel, are you sure you want to come with me? Palmier is a long ways away from here."

The blue fairy was packing his tiny bag. "Of course I am. We're partners just like Mana and Sharuru. You'd follow Mana wherever she went, right Sharuru?"

Floating over Raquel, the pink fairy nodded. "Yes. Where Mana goes, I go."

"That's sweet of you," Mana said. "I always know I can count on my number one assistant."

"Your relationship is different," Rikka pointed out. "Mana needs Sharuru to transform, so they'd be stuck together whether they liked it or not. There is no need for Raquel to follow me."

"Rikka, my decision is final. I'm going with you; otherwise I'd hardly be a proper partner. Palmier sounds interesting, and I know you'd be lonely without someone a friend." Raquel was stubborn about following her.

"Does this mean we can't all play together?" Lance asked. The younger fairy realized he would miss the blue fairy, especially when Sharuru was just as busy as ever.

Alice Yotsuba stroked his head. "Now now, you'll have plenty of chances to play with him some other time. Until then, be nice and don't complain. I'll buy you a toy if you be good, or maybe a giant crab."

Rikka paused her packing. "Where are you going to get a giant crab? And please don't say that you'll get if from Crab Land; it doesn't exist."

Mana seemed to take the question seriously. "Maybe she could fish it up from the eastern ocean. No, I don't think any have been spotted there. Perhaps the Land of Fountains has one."

Rikka needed a break from the packing. She was mostly done anyway. "Forget I asked. Let's go for a walk." With that statement she walked outside. Raquel latched onto her.

Mana and Alice followed her out carrying their fairies, and Alice brought up her umbrella to shield herself from the sun. "You've got everything planned out right?" Mana asked. "Schedule, where you're staying, how many letters you're writing me, all that stuff."

"Yes Mana. My dad is currently living in Palmier, so I'll be staying with him. And I promise I'll write to you once a week." Rikka knew Mana was such a worrier, but she didn't need to baby her. She was perfectly aware of how to take care of herself.

"Just making sure. It's going to be lonely without you here. Alice is gone so often I hardly see her these days." Mana understood why they were leaving, but she was going to miss them. "How long are you staying in town Alice?"

The rich girl pulled out her schedule. "I'm actually leaving about the same time Rikka is. Sorry about that. There's still Makoto though."

"Makopi is fun and all, but she always wants to stay by the princess, so it's hard to pull her away and have fun. She's always busy. It's a miracle she even comes to school at all." Mana and the princess had to practically force her to come to school, and even then she kept her identity as Cure Sword a secret.

Considering people either flocked to or completely avoided Mana, Rikka couldn't blame her. "You don't have the right to accuse someone of being busy, and since you drag me into your projects all the time, I'm thinking of this as a vacation."

"A vacation would be nice," Alice commented. "Business can be such a chore."

"I like my work," Mana said. "It's good to be productive as much as possible. Even when it's menial work, it keeps me busy."

They were now walking along the bank of a river, which was calm. The area was mostly empty, and birds were flying low and hopping on the ground. Rikka stopped, knowing that this would be the last time she would get to see this in months. "If we were always busy, we'd never have the chance to just hang out like this."

Suddenly Rikka spotted a familiar girl sitting near the water's edge with a sketchbook in her hands. "Her again." Quietly approaching her, Rikka looked over Mai to see what she was drawing. This picture was of several birds catching fish in the water. Evidently she had been working on it for some time, as everything was more filled in than what she had spotted last time.

It took Mai a minute to realize she was being watched. "Ah, sorry I didn't notice you." Scrambling up, she dusted her clothes off and closed her sketchbook. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw who had approached her. "It's you."

Mana approached Mai. "Mai right? Nice to meet you again. What were you drawing?"

She kept her face intact, but Mai was surprised that Mana was curious about her drawings. "Today I was sketching the birds. They're my favorite animal to draw actually. Watching the behavior of the sparrows, the egrets, and the cranes make me think how they have the capability to travel far away, but often choose to stay put in an area they know."

"You think your drawings through don't you," Mana complimented. "I once considered getting into art myself, but Rikka reminded me that I was already overloaded."

"No, you're overloaded as is. Adding anything else would merely confirm you're some kind of robot." Rikka felt Mana would do whatever she fancied if someone didn't restrain her.

"We are here to take care of you," Sharuru said in a robotic tone. Raquel and Lance chuckled.

Mana wondered what Mai's life was like. "Tell me, how are you doing?"

Mai's face became uncomfortable and worried. "Actually, there's something I'm worried about, and I don't know what I should do about it."

"What is it? Maybe I can help you."

"It's not something that I need help with. I just need to make a decision about whether to leave." Mai wasn't sure if Mana could help her, but any advice she gave could be useful. "I've received an invitation to go far away to Land of Fountains, but I'm not sure if I should go or not. It's a long ways away from home, and I don't really want to leave."

Mana took all of two seconds to think about it. "Is there a reason to go? Do you want to see new places? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then you should go. Opportunities to explore the world are rare, so if you have the chance and capability, take advantage of it."

Rikka was surprised by her declaration. "You think it's a good idea to leave? You weren't happy when I decided I was going to Palmier."

"Well, I didn't want to miss you at first, but later I realized that you should do whatever makes you happy and broadens your horizon, and if this allows you to do that, then I'll support you every step of the way. Besides, we'll see each other again."

Mai was listening carefully to Mana's speech. "Explore the world. Broaden my horizons. Yes, those do sound like good reasons to go. And I'll return eventually, so I won't be gone for too long. Thank you for the advice Lady Aida." Before Mana could remind her to drop lady, Mai picked up everything she had. "Excuse me, but I am wanted as soon as possible, and I must pack now." With that said, the painter rushed off.

Sighing, Rikka watched her run off. She was a bit envious of how easily Mana got her to decide on a course of action. Where did she get all that charisma from? "Another student going off on her own, leaving the monotony of her old life behind. If this keeps up, I think you'll be the only person left in the Trump Kingdom Mana."

"Good luck with that Mana. If you get lonely I'll have a robot built in Rikka's image just for you." Alice was no stranger to the occasional teasing.

"I'd like that," Mana said with a straight face. Rikka's face flushed red. Sharuru and Raquel pouted. Lance had already fallen asleep.

"I don't know who's going to have a harder time," Rikka mumbled. "Me or you."

* * *

Nagisa Misumi was in a foul mood. The lacrosse game had been going well right up until she missed the critical shot that would have assured their victory. So her team lost because of her mistake. That probably blew her chances of going anywhere in lacrosse. Not that she was getting anywhere with her circumstances.

"I don't believe it," she mumbled. "Should've adjusted my aim before shooting."

Beside her, Rina tried to comfort her. "Don't sweat it. You'll get it next time."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Shiho said. "You were off this time, but next time I know you will be in better shape."

Nagisa had been tired during the game, owing to a lack of sleep the past few nights. If she was a regular player she probably would have just been reprimanded and told to get sleep before the next game. Since she had a special situation, she wasn't able to make most games, and between sleepiness and lack of practice, her skills were waning.

"Sorry guys. I don't think I'll be able to make any more games for the rest of the year. I wouldn't be of much help to you with how my schedule is like these days." Nagisa started to grow slightly bitter as she remembered why her schedule was messed up. "And of course you know whose fault it is my life is screwed I'm sure."

If Shiho or Rina felt any guilt, they sure didn't show it. "They must really be working you hard in the palace these days," Rina said.

"What kind of work is it?" Shiho asked. "Do you have to scrub their feet? Clean their rooms? Stand as target practice?" Shiho had her own wild ideas of what she thought Nagisa was supposed to do.

"…No, they don't treat me that badly." Nagisa hoped to quench their ideas before they got out of control or worse, started to get accurate.

Rina snapped her fingers. "I've got it. You're their maid."

"Come again?"

Shiho nodded furiously. "That's a great great great idea. It works as a nice punishment for Nagisa, and she gets to take care of them for messing up their ceremony."

Now Nagisa really had to stop them before they came up with anything more embarrassing. "Jeez, you two are never going to give up. I've told you already; I'm only Yukishiro's assistant."

"But you never give us any details," Rina countered. "What kind of job do you have that requires you to go up almost every night?"

Technically, Nagisa could have told them the truth. They told her they preferred secrecy, but as far as she could tell there was nothing stopping her from actually telling everyone. Still, she wanted to keep her normal life and secret life separate as much as possible. "Can't tell you the specifics. All I can say is that it's vital that I be there."

"You distract the monsters with your antics while Pretty Cure finishes them off," Shiho guessed. Nagisa hanged her head low, deciding to give up for today.

Rina briefly became lost in thought. "Speaking of Pretty Cure, apparently Natsuko and Kyoko saw Cure Black and Cure White yesterday."

Nagisa began coughing as Shiho's attention was shifted to Rina. "Really really really? Where did they see them? What were they like?"

"According to them, they were walking home late last night when suddenly some monster came out of nowhere and attacked them. They thought they were goners until Black and White showed up to kick some monster butt. They did all this punching and kicking and spinning until they finished it off with some sort of beam weapon." Rina enjoyed retelling the tale, even though she suspected parts of it were exaggerated. "Black was merciless and never stopped attacking until it went down. White never got hit once and brought it to the ground with a single flip."

Panicking, Nagisa began asking her own questions. "Did they get a good look at them? Could they tell who they were?" This could be really bad for her, and it just had to be two people she knew.

"According to them, it was really dark, so they couldn't make them out clearly."

"Why do you care?" Shiho questioned. "You see them all the time, and everyone knows they're Odajima and Yukishiro."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Nagisa calmed down. "Just making sure." Then she realized she needed an excuse for why she cared. "Um, they prefer sticking to the shadows and don't like it when people watch them, so if you see them, just hide and cover your eyes."

Rina frowned and whispered into Shiho's ear. Shiho nodded after a few seconds and started talking loud enough that Nagisa could hear her. "Yes, she's definitely hiding something." Nagisa threw her hands up and didn't bother to respond.

Their walk continued in silence for a few minutes. Eventually Rina looked up at the sky. "Looks like it's getting cloudy again."

Checking herself, Nagisa saw it was indeed getting cloudy. Come to think of it, the sky had been clear and sunny a few minutes ago. The clouds seemed unnatural, though she couldn't put her finger on why they looked off. Regardless, they were a bad sign.

She had to go now. "Ah, I completely forgot. They wanted me in right after the game. If you see my family, tell them I'll be late again tonight." She dashed off immediately in the direction of the Palace of Light.

Shiho and Rina watched her go, dumbfounded by her sudden change. "Was it something I said?" Rina asked.

"Maybe she needs to change into her uniform and hold an umbrella over Yukishiro." Both of them snickered at the thought of Nagisa holding an umbrella in a maid uniform.

The Garden of Light had two Cures. While they kept themselves unseen, their identities were informally known by the general public. There had been an official ceremony after all. Honoka Yukishiro was Cure White. That was a known fact. It was also a known fact that Yuka Odajima was Cure Black. However, Nagisa knew that known fact was incorrect, and it was her fault it was that way.

Reaching the gates, Nagisa didn't bother to pull out any identification. The guards knew her well enough. She was waved in as soon as the door was opened. Nagisa called what she did a punishment for her stupidity, but in truth she wasn't sure if it was a punishment. She didn't enjoy what she had to do, but it had its perks. Seeing her for instance.

A blue-haired girl carrying a small stack of documents ran past Nagisa, but she stopped and turned around when she spotted her. "Hello Nagisa. She's in the lab right now. We're testing how some of the jewels react when exposed to extreme heat. Finding their melting point is fascinating."

"Thanks Yuriko." Nagisa was unsurprised to hear she was doing more experiments. It seemed to be her favorite pastime. Yuriko turned and ran off.

Nagisa had been in the Palace of Light often enough that she knew where to go. Entering the lab, Nagisa found her writing her observations down while a table was on fire. "Okay, so ruby melts faster than diamond, but slower than silver. But what will happen if I wrap them in an inflammable coating? Will they melt closer to the same time, or will they melt at the same pace?"

"The table is on fire!" Nagisa screamed. Looking around, she found a bucket of sand. She picked it up and threw the sand over the fire. Thankfully it was a small fire, and it went out quickly.

Honoka Yukishiro finally looked up. "Oh, it was. I had it under control though Nagisa."

Checking the rest of the lab, Nagisa found no more fires. "Honoka, I thought you were supposed to be attentive when dealing with this stuff. I don't want another experiment blowing up in your face."

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Honoka glanced at her notes one more time, and then looked at her former experiment. Multiple gems were still intact, but others were beginning to melt. "By the way, what are you doing here? Wasn't today the day of your game? How did it go?"

Nagisa cringed upon thinking of her game again. "Not so well. We lost."

"Too bad. Hopefully you'll do better next time. I'd like to see you play someday. I'm certain that you play excellently." Honoka was under the impression that Nagisa was the team ace.

The sports girl didn't want to admit that she messed up. "I don't think I'll be playing much in the future," she muttered. She shook her head. Now was not the time to beat herself up. "Never mind that. Look outside."

Honoka stepped to the window to pull the window open. As she did, something stirred in Nagisa's pocket, and out popped a yellow fairy, who yawned. "That was a nice nap. Nagisa, I'm hungry."

Nagisa looked down at the fairy. "I bet you didn't even watch my game Mepple. I'll feed you later. Look where you are right now."

Mepple glanced around the room, then he started jumping in joy. "We're in the palace! Mipple, where's Mipple?" Not even turning around, Honoka pointed to the table the pink fairy was at. He jumped up to her. "Mipple dear, I'm here".

Waking up, Mipple transformed out of commune form. "Mepple? Oh Mepple it's so good to see you." Both fairies stated hugging each other and whispering into each other's ears."

Nagisa sighed. "Someone is happy at least."

"It's cloudy." Honoka was studying the sky. "Those clouds look off, don't you think?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's why I came." Nagisa just remembered why she was here. "It looks like they'll be attacking again."

Honoka was still scanning the clouds. "It's still early, but I agree. They'll be making their move soon. Do you see the area over there? It seems even darker than the rest of the city." Indeed, in the distance was a spot where the clouds were so dark the sun wasn't shining through at all. "We should head out soon."

"Agreed." Wherever darkness went, they would follow. "Come on Mepple, we're going."

"Already? I barely got any alone time with Mipple." Mepple was not happy about being dragged away from his girlfriend."

"Don't worry dear, we'll still be together." Mipple was able to take it more maturely.

Nagisa grabbed Mepple, who transformed into his commune form. "Stop complaining already. You get plenty of lovey-dovey time with her already."

Honoka was already out the door, Mipple in hand. "Let's go already. It's not good to waste time."

"Yes yes." Nagisa followed Honoka out, and they started running to the exit. Darkness was once again coming to the Garden of Light, and as of late that only meant one thing. A Zakenna was coming, and only the two of them could stop it.

Rounding a corner, Nagisa ran straight into someone, knocking him down. "Sorry, but I have to…" Her words trailed off as she saw who she ran into. Fujimura Shougo, one of the nobles' sons and captain in training.

Fujimura rubbed his head as he got up. "Ah, it's no problem. Hello Misumi. Heading out already?"

Blushing, Nagisa quickly turned away. "Yeah. It looks like another one is showing up."

"Nagisa, hurry up! This isn't dawdling time." Honoka was getting impatient.

Fujimura smiled. "Good luck then."

"Thanks." Taking just another moment to look at him, Nagisa broke off to catchup to Honoka.

"Getting closer to Fujipi aren't you," Mepple teased.

"Shut up."

Honoka shook her head in annoyance. Nagisa should know there were better times to chitchat she thought. She refrained from any more criticism though, as that would make her look nagging.

Exiting the Palace of Light, the two girls raced to the district where they approximated the Zakenna would be. They were even in speed, which always surprised Nagisa considering she had greater stamina. Maybe it was Honoka's longer legs. As they moved through the city, Nagisa wished they could someday just explore the city together. Whenever they went out, it was always to confront a Zakenna. Honoka never seemed interested in straying far from the richer districts unless it was necessary. Well, she probably had better things to do anyway.

"We're here." Honoka stated. They were under the darkest cloud in the sky. The area was currently sparse, as word had gotten around to avoid the darkness, for that was where they would most likely be attacked.

Mepple and Mipple were both shuddering. "I feel the darkness approaching rapidly," Mipple said.

"This is the right spot," Mepple confirmed.

Right now there were only two options for them, transform or wait. Personally, Nagisa preferred waiting even if it wasn't really logical. The less time transformed the better. She always felt weird then. Thankfully Honoka didn't make a fuss about it.

"Why do they always come to the darkest spots?" Nagisa asked. It always made them fairly easy to find, and oftentimes they were able to make it to where they were before anything happened.

"Who knows." Honoka said. "I've heard the Zakenna are more powerful in the darkness, as are all residents of the Dusk Zone. I'd like to test that if we ever get the chance." Both of them were sweating, waiting for the enemy to reveal itself. Seconds ticked by as the darkness seemed to get even deeper, as the air got heavier.

A shadow moved to Nagisa's right. "It's coming!" Mepple shouted.

Nagisa grabbed Honoka's hand. "Honoka." The blue-haired girl nodded in understanding. They had done this dance plenty of times in the past six months. Both of them shouted, "Dual Aurora Wave!" Energy flowed out from Mepple and Mipple and into the two girls.

It was a known fact that Cure White was Honoka Yukishiro and Cure Black was Yuka Odajima. Yet sometimes known fact wasn't correct, and in this case it was the identity of Cure Black. Nagisa still regretted stepping into the Palace of Light that day and accidentally stealing the title and powers of Cure Black. But it happened, and here she was, transforming into one of the legendary warriors.

A rainbow light enveloped both of them as they felt their clothes being stripped away by a force that could only be described as magic. Just as that happened, they were replaced by a new set of clothes, one that was apparently more fit for battle. Nagisa never understood why it worked that way, but it did. She stopped openly questioning it long ago. Their new uniforms were complete with frills and all.

"Emissary of Light, Cure Black!"

"Emissary of Light, Cure White!"

"We are Pretty Cure"

Cure White pointed to the shadow. "Servant of the Dark Power…"

Cure Black mimicked her movement and finished the speech. "Return to the darkness from which you came!"

Only seconds had passed from the beginning of the transformation to the end, but it felt like over a minute to Black. Another quirk of being a Pretty Cure she supposed.

Black looked at White. "Remind me again why we need to recite that every single time."

"Tradition," White answered, as if that were a sufficient answer.

There was no time to argue about it. Out of the shadow came a knight on a horse charging straight at them with a lance. Both the knight and the horse had bright yellow eyes, which contrasted sharply with the dark purple color that enveloped them. The Zakenna attempted to stab White with its lance, but she twirled out of the way in time. While it attempted to regain its composure, Black slammed her fist into the horse's side, causing it to stumble.

It didn't stumble enough, for the knight managed to swing its lance around to smack Black back. Thankfully she crossed her arms in front of her head before that, so she didn't take any serious injuries.

White leaped over the knight and kicked it in the helmet, disorienting the Zakenna further. She grabbed its lance and attempted to wrestle it out of the monster's hand, but it held on tightly. The horse started running, and White found herself being dragged along the ground. Her knees started to scrape the ground.

"White!" Black scrambled to reach her, but the Zakenna had a head start. Looking for something to throw, she found a small rock. "Take this!" Picking it up, she threw it as hard as she could straight at the Zakenna. The rock hit the side of the horse, making a dent in it as it veered off and crashed into a building.

White got up before the Zakenna and grabbed the knight, throwing it over to Black's direction. Black rushed forward, and her fist slammed into its chest. Flying back towards White, she sidestepped, and then kicked it away.

By that time the horse had gotten up and charged straight at White, who jumped over it a second before it could ram into her. It continued running at Black, who caught it by the head. She was pushed back a few meters, but succeeded in stopping its movement when she kneed it in the gut. Before either of them could do anything else, White landed on top of the horse, causing it to crumble into the ground.

"Look out!" Mepple shouted. Black saw the lance flying straight at White and tackled her to the ground as it soared over them by centimeters. The knight was running at them, but one of its legs was twisted, so it wasn't particularly fast to them.

White grabbed the fallen lance and used it to sweep the knight off its feet. She then stabbed it straight through the chest with its own lance. The horse attempted to rise, but one punch from Black sent it right back down.

Both of them leaped back to observe their handiwork. The Zakenna, both parts, was heavily damaged and on the floor. Easy pickings. "Shall we finish this?" White said. Black nodded in affirmation.

The two Cures grabbed hands, and energy began to surge all around them. The sky crackled as a burst of light shone through the clouds. Power welled up within them, just waiting to burst out at their target.

"Black thunder!"

"White thunder!"

Perhaps if they were older the incantation would not be needed, but as they were it helped them focus. Black and white lighting swooped down from the sky, enveloping them in a bright light.

White led the next part. "Our beautiful souls…"

Black followed up. "Shall crush your evil heart!"

Then, together. "Pretty Cure Marble Screw!" Out of their hands came a beam of black and white, intertwined together as one. The attack hit both parts of the Zakenna, overwhelming it instantly and destroying it, leaving no traces of the monster behind.

Black and White were breathing heavily. The attack always took a lot out of them, so they saved it for the finishing blow where they were sure it would finish the enemy. "Looks like we got this one," Black said triumphantly.

"Yes," White agreed. "With minimal damage done to the area as well. I'd call this a success."

"How's your knee White? I saw you take a nasty scrape there."

White looked down at her knees, like she was just noticing she had been injured. "Oh. Don't worry about it. It should heal by tomorrow." One of the benefits of being a Cure was enhanced healing, even when not transformed. That was one part Nagisa definitely enjoyed.

"So you get in our way again Pretty Cure." A new voice caused them to look up and see a man on the roof above them. His hair was long and shaggy, his skin pale as if it rarely saw sunlight, a cape adorned his back, and on his face he wore a red domino mask. "I'd congratulate you on your victory, but in truth this was just one step closer to achieving our goal."

"Who are you!" Black demanded. She found herself getting energized again. Tired as she was, she could still fight if need be.

"My name is Pissard, one of the generals of the Dusk Zone. If you are lucky, I will be the only one you ever meet." He seemed smug, acting with complete confidence that he had control of the situation.

"What do you want?" White inquired. She was also capable of still fighting, but she wanted to fish out any information she could.

"My mission today is complete, but rest assured I will return ladies. Once we find Him, your days and the days of the Garden of Light will be numbered." Pissard finished his speech and wrapped himself in his cape. A moment later he disappeared into thin air.

Black and White jumped onto the roof to search for any signs of him, but there were none. "No trace of him at all," Mipple said.

"Damn it." Black was frustrated. They had finally met one of the enemy leaders, and he got away with no effort at all.

Mepple was considering what Pissard had said. "Who is the person he said he was looking for?"

"An excellent question," White said. "Something we'll have to discover ourselves I'm guessing." It wasn't much, but at least they had gotten something out of it. "By the way Black, why didn't you follow my advice? Stop relying on just power, and start using a bit more technique."

Black remembered hearing this advice the day before. "Oh come on, it got the job done. That's what counts, right?"

"No, it means our opponent was incompetent. Maybe it works against the Zakenna, but if we start fighting other opponents, like that man, then we'll need more than just brute force. If you don't improve soon, I might have to start calling you in for more training sessions."

Not training sessions. She had already gone through them a bit when she first became Cure Black, and they wrecked her free time even further. "Alright I get it."

The clouds were dispersing, improving the lighting in the area, but it was still fairly dark. "Good," Honoka said. It's getting late, so you should probably be getting back now."

Black looked at the setting sun. "Ah, my parents are going to kill me. See you later Honoka." They leaped down to the ground and detransformed. Nagisa took off as fast as she could towards her home. Honoka watched her go, smiling as Nagisa ran. Then she turned to go home herself, satisfied with the day's work.


	3. Reluctant Awakening

Reluctant Awakening

After being inside Lacheln Palace and becoming a Pretty Cure, Miyuki found everything a bit underwhelming. She could not concentrate on anything while she was still trying to comprehend all that happened on that day. Surely school would forgive her if she spaced out in this instance.

All the information she learned swirled through her head, or at least what she could remember. Her mission was to protect the peace and smiles of the citizens of Märchenland. That seemed easy enough, or it would be if there weren't enemies trying to topple the kingdom that would do anything they found necessary.

Pop had said something about the Bad End Kingdom hating them over a long standing grudge. She didn't understand it, but the gist of it was that Pierrot, emperor of the Bad End Kingdom, once had a disagreement with the Royale Queen, and that spread throughout the nations until both hated each other. Tension increased between both kingdoms over the centuries, enough that most of Märchenland's army was stationed in the north, ready to war with their rivals should it be deemed necessary.

Yet apparently it hadn't been deemed necessary, since no official action had been taken against them. Nao and Akane had seemed certain that the Bad End Kingdom was the source of their troubles, but according to them Cure Beauty opposed taking any action without solid proof, which they didn't have. Pop said the Royale Queen also opposed attacking Bad End, so for now they were just waiting and reacting.

All in all, it was too complex for Miyuki to understand. Laying her head on her desk, her brain hurt trying to sort it all out. That was a mistake, since her teacher thought she was sleeping in class again and assigned her to stay after school for detention. If Sunny, March, or Beauty saw her now, she'd die of embarrassment.

At least class was over for today. "Are you okay Miyuki?" One of her classmates seemed to be concerned about her. "You seem tired today. Normally you're much more energetic and upbeat."

Rolling her head up, Miyuki saw a yellow-haired girl even shorter than she was. Miyuki realized they were in the same class, but she couldn't remember her name. "Ha-pu-pu-pu. Things happened. Rather would not talk about it."

"Yayoi, didn't you have something you wanted to show me?" a familiar voice called out.

Yayoi heard it and ran from Miyuki's desk to her own, pulling out a sketchbook. Glancing over, Miyuki saw Yayoi showing the insides of it to Akane. Ah, it was just Akane, nothing to be concerned about. She put her head down to drift off to dreamland again.

Five seconds later she bolted right up and looked back, rubbing her eyes. That Akane Hino was sitting in her class just a few seats behind her. The one that had introduced herself as Cure Sunny. She had been in Miyuki's class the entire time, and she never noticed.

Akane was looking over Yayoi's sketches. "I'm not an expert on this or anything, but it looks like an improvement to me. It looks like she's carrying an actual weapon instead of some hideous stick she claims is a weapon." She looked up and met Miyuki's eyes. "Yo, I was wondering how long it would take you to notice me."

Miyuki bolted straight over to her, almost trampling Yayoi in the process. "Akane, why are you here?" She never gave it much thought, but she had always kind of believed that Pretty Cure didn't actually go to school and spent most of their time beating up bad guys.

"Same reason you are. I'm a student, and I've been here the entire time you have." Akane was trying to hold back her laughter, with limited success.

"Akane, you know her?" Yayoi asked.

"Well, we met each other recently out of class. It wasn't anything too big, so I forgot to mention that we were in the same class." Akane was looking back at Yayoi's sketchbook. "Oh that's nice. Needs more ice though."

Miyuki was starting to recover from her shock. "Not important? I became a Pr-" Before saying anything else Akane covered her mouth with her hand.

"You know what, maybe we should talk. Yayoi, stay here. I need to speak with her privately." Grabbing Miyuki by the arm, Akane dragged Miyuki out of the room, leaving Yayoi alone. Alone and curious.

The two came to a stop when no one was in sight. "What was that about?" Miyuki asked. "I was just going to tell her I became a Cure."

"Yeah, and that's the problem. Lesson number one. You don't want people to know what you are. I know I sure don't." Akane was taking this seriously.

Come to think of it, Miyuki vaguely remembered hearing both March and Beauty's civilian names, but never Sunny's. "Wait, so does everyone not know who you are? I don't see the problem with them knowing."

"You're going to just have to trust me on this, but the publicity is really not worth it. I've seen Reika go out in public before, and the moment she's recognized she gets swarmed by mobs wanting to meet her. Nao doesn't have it quite as bad, but it can be hard for her to go out and not end it running away from overzealous fans. Having a little peace is well worth the price of not telling everyone."

That made some sense to Miyuki, but she wandered how far it went. "So have you not told anyone?"

"My family knows. Obviously the people that frequent Lacheln Palace know. Otherwise, that's it. Trust me, it's better this way. I get to avoid the hassle of being a celebrity while also pulling rank on my brother when he gets annoying." Akane stopped briefly to remember when she accidentally set her brother's hair on fire. Good times. "Anyway, you can tell everyone if you want, but Sunny here is staying out of the limelight."

"What's this about Sunny? Are you talking about Cure Sunny?" Yayoi was suddenly standing right behind Akane. Her eyes were wide, and Miyuki could have sworn stars were sparkling in them.

Shivering, Akane slowly turned around. "N-no, of course not. Where would you get that idea? And I told you to stay there, not follow us."

Yayoi leaned in closer, staring right at Akane's sweating face. "Really? Because I was getting the impression that you were saying you were Cure Sunny."

"That was a joke. I swear we were just joking about hypotheticals." Akane was beginning to talk very fast. "Seriously there was nothing serious about what I was saying. And if you mention this to anyone I am going to stop looking at your stuff."

This got Yayoi to back down, which was good. The bad part was that tears started welling up in her eyes. "Oh please don't cry. You're making me look like the bad guy here. I was just joking." Akane was scrambling for a way to save face. "I don't think I've introduced Miyuki to you. Miyuki, this is Yayoi Kise an aspiring um, manga artist. She's a bit of a crybaby, but don't let her fool you; she uses her charms to get her way."

Miyuki took hold of Yayoi's hands. "Hello Yayoi. I am Miyuki Hoshizora, but I guess you already know who I am. Now don't tell anyone, but I am a-." She was interrupted when Akane lightly smacked her on the back of her head. "Never mind. What kind of manga do you draw?"

Wiping her tears away, Yayoi showed Miyuki her sketchbook. "Well right now I'm just drawing concept art. This is Cure Beauty fighting those ice demons she fought awhile back." She showed Miyuki a picture of a long-haired Cure wielding a sword standing against two evil looking ice guys. "I'm thinking of making a story where Miracle Peace, that's my own character, tries to join and help the Pretty Cure."

"Sounds interesting. I know every girl would love to help them out. Actually you know what, it sounds kind of like my life," Miyuki said.

"Didn't you get detention?" Akane asked trying to change the subject. "Because we may be able to do something about that." Once again she dragged Miyuki away. "Please don't follow us," she called out to Yayoi. "I promise I'll look at your stuff later." Yayoi stared for a moment, then shrugged and turned away.

Akane stopped at the teacher's office. "You know you'll probably have to drop out if word gets out. Otherwise you'll get swarmed every single day by the other students and possibly the staff as well."

"I get it. I just let my mouth get the better of me sometimes, and I never realized someone so cool was in our class."

"Well, I certainly am pretty awesome," Akane bragged. "Not sure about cool though." Miyuki pouted. "Okay, Yayoi is nice too. Alright, let's take care of you."

"Wait, you were serious about getting me out of detention?"

"Do you think everything that comes out of my mouth is a joke? Lesson number two. We get privileges. Learn to use them." She opened the door and went in.

Their teacher was sitting inside looking at papers. "What do you want Hino? Come to get an excused day off again?"

"Nope, though I'm tempted to take you up on your offer." Akane snickered until the teacher's glare shut her up. Pointing to Miyuki she said, "I'm here for her actually. You know how I have special exemptions from the palace? She got them too. And she's kind of needed right now, so you should kindly rescind her punishment for today. The papers should be in by now."

Grumbling, the teacher called an aide over, who showed her the papers. "A secret, just like Hino. All right Hoshizora, you're free for today, but don't think I can't do anything to you. Ask Hino about her extra homework." Akane cringed and quickly left.

Miyuki was unsure what she should say. Eventually she did a small bow and said, "Excuse me. I'll try and behave better in the future. I promise I'll make you happy." With that said she followed Akane outside.

They were walking to Lacheln Palace in order to start Miyuki's training. Akane tried telling several jokes, most of which Miyuki didn't get. After a few minutes Akane asked, "So how much of other kingdom's Cures do you know about?" Considering what she had gotten so far, she wanted to know how Miyuki would mess up these.

"Like what?" Miyuki wasn't an academic, but she did glance over the current state of Cures after having becoming one herself. There were something like 18 active Cures, too many for her to remember.

"For example, who are the two Cures of the Garden of Light? Get the right answer and I just might treat you to some of my delicious okonomiyaki." Aside from her jokes, Akane also took pride in her cooking skills.

Miyuki put her finger to her lips. She couldn't exactly recall who they were, but their names were on the tip of her tongue. She figured she might as well guess. Maybe she'd get lucky. "Cure Bright and Cure Windy."

More laughter. She got it wrong again. "I swear, we could make a game out of this. It's Cure Black and White by the way. Where did you get Bright and Windy from?"

"They begin the same don't they?" Maybe the words didn't mean similar things, but they sounded vaguely similar at the start. It was something.

"What to do with you. Maybe you can be the princess's study partner."

"Study with Candy? That sounds like fun." Miyuki didn't think becoming the study partner of a fairy six years her junior was a problem.

Akane bopped her lightly on the head. "Lesson 3. It doesn't matter what you call her in the palace and in private, but when we're in public refer to her as the princess, or her highness, or something respectful. It's another one of those things we have to do."

"Jeez, there are lots of lessons for me. I thought being a Cure was all about beating up the bad guys." Several people were running past her, and Miyuki almost knocked one person over. "Sorry."

"Oh don't get me started on what we have to do. There's fighting, ceremonies, strategy sessions, and all sorts of little things that have to be looked over. Be thankful that Nao and Reika handle most of the bureaucratic stuff." Before continuing, she noticed even more people were running in the opposite direction of them. "It feels like something is going on."

A distant roar could be heard, far past Lacheln Palace. Smoke was rising on the horizon. On the roof beside them was Cure March, spotting the two. "We've got another one past the palace. Sunny, with me." Then she took off at full speed so fast that to Miyuki she became just a blur.

Akane's face grew serious. "Ah great. I was hoping there wouldn't be another one for a while. Take my stuff for me will you." She handed her bag to Miyuki and ran off towards the trouble.

"Wait, what about me?" Miyuki called out.

"Don't want to get a newbie involved in a battle yet!" Akane yelled without turning around. "Just get to the princess and keep her company." Then, she was gone.

The streets were empty, and Miyuki was all alone. "I'm never going to do anything at this rate," she pouted. She wanted to do something to prove herself worthy after all the embarrassment she had gone through.

Entering Lacheln Palace, she found everyone in it uneasy. Business as usual was continuing, but she heard whispers and worries about how long these attacks would continue. She heard that they were wondering when they would take action against the Bad End Kingdom, and that they wanted to speak directly with the Royale Queen.

On a balcony facing the outside, she found Candy looking over the city. "Candy, it's good to see you."

Candy smiled upon hearing her newest friend. "Miyuki how was your day?"

Miyuki embraced her small princess. "It was ultra nice. I learned I was closer to Akane than I thought, I may have met a new friend, and I got out of trouble in school today. How was yours?"

Her smile slipped from her face. "Not fun. They were teaching me about Major Land history today. Why should I care about them? All they do is sing and play lots of music, and they don't tell stories, so why are they relevant to me? Story time is so much more fun." Candy did not understand the significance of learning about their eastern neighbors.

For her part, Miyuki had no clue what Major Land had to do with Candy's studies. "I know what you mean. All this math stuff is hard, and so is science. We're going over the past war with Palmier now, and everything just flies over my head. Why couldn't they just be nice with us?" Miyuki had an idea. "Say, why don't I tell you a story to cheer you up? I recently read a good one about a place called the Garden of Rainbows." Candy's nodding indicated that she was interested.

It was a simple tale, one about a rabbit living on a world known as the Garden of Rainbows. The rabbit was an ordinary one until it was called upon to stop dark forces from the moon. The rabbit accepted and grew strong and popular. It fought until the dark forces were defeated. The rabbit was hailed as the savior of the world and was chosen to become its ruler by the people. But then something terrible happened. While it may have saved the world, the rabbit did not know how to run it, and chaos soon engulfed the world. The world fell into complete disarray until the rabbit sacrificed itself to bring hope to the world. In the end, the Garden of Rainbows survived, and the people learned to put a little less faith in their heroes.

Candy took a moment to take it all in. "That seems like a sad story. The rabbit was just doing its best for everyone, but it didn't get anything for all the hard work it did."

"It does seem like a sad story doesn't it Candy. However, I think its message is a bit uplifting. The people discovered that they couldn't rely on their heroes for everything, and thus they began working for their own happy end. And the rabbit died happily too, knowing its work wasn't in vain." Miyuki read a variety of fairy tales, and the one thing she always did was make sure she understood the moral it contained.

"I see this kingdom has plenty of stories to offer." A new voice suddenly appeared, coming from a man floating in front of the balcony. "However, I don't see the value in those stories." The man's skin had a dark tan, he wore a black jacket, and his neck adorned a red scarf.

Miyuki blinked, not sure what to say. "Um, can I help you? Are you flying?"

The man looked at a picture in his hand. "Yes, this is Lacheln Palace, which means there must be many valuables in here. There will be suitable objects here to add to the collection. And with Pretty Cure busy elsewhere, no one will get in my way." He tossed a yellow ball to a statue. "Hoshina, begin the collection process."

The yellow ball attached itself to the statue, and then began to go inside it, like it was being absorbed. A moment later the statue grew in size, becoming several meters tall, gaining a yellow center with eyes. "Hoshina!" it shouted before it stormed straight into the palace, breaking down the wall in the process. Inside the people began panicking, dropping what they were doing and running off to hide. The Hoshina began grabbing as many jewels as it could find.

Miyuki was stunned. "What's going on? Who are you, one of the Bad End guys?"

The man landed on the balcony. "If you're asking if I have any affiliation with the Bad End Kingdom, then the answer is no. My name is Scorp, and that is all you need to know about me." He approached Miyuki until he was inches from her. "Now young lady, I believe I heard you refer to that creature as Candy. If that is the princess, then hand her over to avoid any further trouble."

"Stop attacking the palace!" Candy screamed. "Or else Miyuki here will rough you up." She was now in Miyuki's arms, trembling, but facing the intruder.

Miyuki nodded as she backed up. "Yes she will." Candy's words reached her brain. "Wait, me?"

Scorp seemed unimpressed. "Then I shall take her by force." With surprising speed he lunged for her. Miyuki dropped to the ground, and Scorp went flying over her. Scrambling up, Miyuki ran into the palace to look for a hiding spot.

Inside was a mess, with fairies and humans huddled up in a corner as the Hoshina pillaged the contents of the room. Miyuki ran on, concerned for them but not knowing how she could help. Scorp pursued her into the next room, which turned out to be a large library filled with books and bookshelves of all sizes. With a wave of his arm, Miyuki felt herself be hit by what felt like a hard gust of wind and tumbled into a bookcase.

Scorp stood over the duo. "Give her to me, and I will have no further need to harm you." His face was mostly stoic with a hint of a smile. "Yes, with the princess of Märchenland my standing will go up."

"You're not touching Candy." Miyuki placed Candy next to the shelf and stood between them. "Not until you go through me. Candy, run." She braced herself for battle, though she had no idea how to fight. Candy backed up against the bookshelf, but refused to leave.

"Very well then." Raising his arm, a purple energy ball appeared in his hand. Miyuki remained steadfast in front of him.

A bright light shone to the side of her, forcing her to shut her eyes. She heard the blast hit something and felt its energy wash over her, but it did not hit her. Scorp gasped in shock and leaped back. Miyuki slowly adjusted her eyes to see what happened.

Right in front of her was someone she didn't know. He or she wore a light grey cloak that covered their entire body. The person stood still, showing no signs at being injured for tanking the blast. Time seemed to stop as Miyuki, Candy, and Scorp all gasped at the new arrival.

The cloaked figure waited for a second before rushing straight at Scorp. Before he could react, the figure punched him straight in the stomach, knocking the air out of his body. Then the figure slammed Scorp's head on their knee, followed by throwing him up into the air. The figure opened their palm, and out of it came a white energy blast, sending him flying back.

The cloaked figure spun around to face Miyuki and began speaking. "Hoshizora Miyuki, you are a Pretty Cure." It was a girl's voice, definitely. She was saying a statement, not asking a question.

Miyuki nodded slowly. "Yes, I am."

The cloak hid her face well. Miyuki could not make out any features of her body. "Then you should become one. Become a Cure and fight for your happiness, your people, and your friends."

"Open the Smile Pact," Candy said in a daze. "Set the Cure Décor, and yell out Pretty Cure Smile Charge." Miyuki remembered hearing those instructions before, but they never stuck with her. Not until now. The cloaked figure watched on in silence.

Pulling out her Smile Pact, Miyuki opened it, finding seven rainbow-colored jewels in it. In her hands a pink décor appeared, called by an unseen force, and she placed it in the center. "Pretty Cure Smile Charge!"

At once she felt herself completely enveloped by energy. Her clothes stripped away, leaving herself to bask in the glowing light of the Smile Pact. She felt herself unconsciously sweeping her hands over a body, creating a new uniform out of nothingness while floating in midair. Power welled up inside her, and she felt stronger than she had ever been. Finally she landed on the ground, and she knew what she had to say.

"Twinkling and shining, the light of the future! Cure Happy!"

Happy. Her name was Cure Happy. It came to her naturally, like it was what her name had always been. Happy looked at her hands, then at herself. Her uniform was mostly pink, her hair lengthened, and a tiara appeared on her head.

Candy was jumping up and down. "You transformed! I knew you could do it."

Scorp reentered the library rubbing his head. "What is going on here?" His eyes widened when he saw Happy. "Where did you come from? There were supposed to be no Cures here right now."

Happy stood straight up, feeling more confident than ever. "Foul villain, remove yourself from my presence or face the wrath of my happy attack! My happy powers will cleanse you of your sadness and bring happiness to your life."

Scorp and the cloaked figure stood still. Happy felt both of them stare at them. Did she mess up her speech? Scorp grunted. "Are all Märchenland Cures this crazy?" He leaped straight for her, hands extended.

Almost on instinct she jumped straight up over him, much higher than she had ever jumped before. Too high actually, for she hit her head on the ceiling of the library. She was stumbling as she landed, giving Scorp the chance to hit her from behind, sending her flying out of the library. "Owie. This isn't how this should go." Happy saw the Hoshina continue to ransack the palace, placing jewels in a bag. "Stop taking Candy's stuff!"

Scorp landed some meters from her. "Perhaps I will get a bonus if I kill a Pretty Cure." He raised his fist to strike her once again, but it was caught by the cloaked figure. "Nuisance." He tried to swipe her with his other hand, but she dodged it by jumping back. Again he charged at her, and she simply sidestepped him before tripping him to the ground.

"Cure Happy," she called out. "Deal with the monster. I must see your strength." She then stomped on Scorp's back, causing him to gasp out in pain. "And you, stay down for now."

Happy got up and faced the Hoshina. "Come at me you!" The Hoshina turned to her and charged. "Not that fast!" Happy closed her eyes and ran forward blindly, still scared to face it. Luckily for her she ran right between the creature's legs. The Hoshina paused and tried to look down between its legs to find her.

Happy stopped and looked at around. "Hey, I didn't get trampled. I'm getting better at this." Looking up, she saw the Hoshina's hand coming right down on her. "Not good, not good." She put her hands above her to stop the impact, and to her surprise she managed to stop it. Struggling under its weight, she kept it from crushing her. "All right, meet my happy power!" She digged her feet into the ground and pushed up with all her strength, and the statue fell back and toppled to the ground.

She breathed heavily, still not used to having all this power. "Amazing. This is what Sunny and March must feel like all the time."

The Hoshina was attempting to rise, but perhaps due to a design flaw related to having a giant ball for a body, its first attempt was thwarted. Candy bolted over to her. "Gather your spirit into your Smile Pact!"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Happy placed her hands on the Smile Pact attached to her uniform. How was one supposed to gather energy? Time to figure out for herself. She began chanting, "Spirit! Spirit! Spirit!" Continuing the chant about ten times, she felt power swell inside her, ready to burst out and destroy its target. I'm starting to get the hang of this, she thought.

A pink light shone from her body as she swept her hands in a heart motion. After that, she put them together in a heart shape, and more pink energy formed in her hands. Gathering it all and pointing it at the Hoshina, she shouted, "Pretty Cure Happy Shower!" A beam shot out of her hands, engulfing the Hoshina before annihilating it. The yellow ball of the Hoshina was eradicated, and all that was left was part of the statue, heavily cracked but still in one piece.

Cure Happy collapsed onto her knees, tired from using her attack. Candy hugged her with her tiny arms. "I knew you could do it."

The cloaked figure stood over Happy. "This world will soon be in grave danger. You will be needed to save it from the coming darkness." She lingered for a moment longer, and then took off for the balcony. Happy and Candy were mesmerized by how smooth she moved. They barely noticed an injured Scorp run off towards the balcony as well, muttering curses to himself.

Around her, the various hiding people started to come out to see the destruction. Many of them gasped when they saw Happy. Happy stood up, not sure what to say. "Um, we won?" The silence continued for a minute, and then one of the fairies began clapping for her, followed by all the other spectators. Happy realized that she was being appreciated for her hard work. It was a nice feeling.

Cure March zipped into the room from one of the lower doors. "I came as soon as I was able to. What happened?"

Cure Sunny leaped in from the balcony and glanced around the room. "Looks like someone did a touch of redecorating without permission. Whoa, what happened to you Miyuki?"

"I'm not really sure what happened," Happy said. A wide grin appeared on her face. "I do know one thing though. I am ultra happy. No, I am Cure Happy."

* * *

"Hibiki, get back here!" Running through the halls of Symphonia Palace, Kanade was looking for her fellow Cure. "This is no time to be lazing around. We need to get this right as soon as possible!"

They were supposed to be practicing for the upcoming Grand Concert right now, where the Melody of Happiness would be officially sang to the world by Hummy. In the middle of their singing practice, Hibiki went to the bathroom and had not returned since. That happened 20 minutes ago.

"Blasted Hibiki. She always thinks that she doesn't need to practice as much. We're supposed to do this together. If she doesn't have a good excuse I'm going to clobber her." Right now she was thankful she needed the Fairy Tones, which weren't here right now, to transform, otherwise she might have blown up a wall in frustration. She spotted a large man with a noticeable green beard. "Bassdrum, where is she?"

Knowing exactly who Kanade was talking about, Bassdrum was about to joke that she was running to find an easier girlfriend, but thought better of it when he saw how angry she was. "Uh, no idea. I think I saw her running out about 20 minutes ago."

"That little, so she was ditching me. Then I need to teach her a lesson on responsibility." Kanade stormed off to the door.

Bemused, Bassdrum decided to poke a little fun at her after all. "Don't blow up another garden this time. I think Aphrodite liked the last one you totaled." Another glare from her shut him up. Once she was out of hearing range he muttered to himself, "Somehow, I think they're getting worse. We need to do something about this."

Exiting the palace, Kanade was greeted by some of the guards, who she ignored. They took the hint and stood out of her way. Outside was quieter than inside the palace, but music of all kinds still filled the sky. Music was played 24/7 in the capital of Major Land.

Kanade spotted a blue-haired girl apparently escorting a boy with orange hair slightly shorter than her. "Waon!" Kanade called out. "Where is she!"

Waon gave an exaggerated salute to Kanade. "Sorry ma'am, but Hibiki gave specific orders that she didn't want to be strangled by you. Actually those were her exact words. Can't give her up."

Grabbing Waon by her shirt, Kanade was glad Hibiki still sucked at stealth. "Is that so? In that case I am rescinding that order. Tell me where she is."

Waon was grinning. "Okay okay. But please try to get along with her. She was at Viola Plaza last I saw her."

Kanade dropped her and ran straight to the plaza. What was Hibiki doing? If she was goofing off Kanade was going to slap her.

Viola Plaza was filled with various folks going on with their day, but no sign on Hibiki. Kids played hopscotch on the pianos on the ground, and several groups were having their own performances. Ducking into several alleys, Kanade found Hibiki trying to squeeze between two walls, her head already inside. Before she could get even further, Kanade grabbed her and with some effort pulled her out. Hibiki landed on the ground. "Found you. What were you doing, ditching me like that?"

Hibiki brushed herself as she turned back to where she was trying to squeeze. "Give me a minute." Kanade grabbed her before she could go anywhere. "I get it." Hibiki shook Kanade off of her. "Get back here Siren."

Peeking in between the walls, Kanade saw the black cat curled up and sitting in there. "Siren, what are you doing? I thought you were with Hummy."

The black cat gave a quiet hiss. "Leave me alone. She clearly doesn't need me anymore what with all her talent apparently."

"What are you saying?" Kanade asked. "Did you two have a fight? Hummy always needs you."

Siren turned her tail to them. "I saw her being showered with praise by everyone. The princess, the nobles, the musicians, even you two. It's amazing really, how quickly you turned your attention shifted to the new star."

"Hold on, you're jealous of Hummy aren't you." Kanade realized that Siren must be bitter at losing her position of songstress.

Hibiki blinked in surprise. "Wait, that's why you've been avoiding her? I thought she did something stupid to make you mad. That's a dumb reason to run away. You two are friends. You shouldn't let something like this break you apart."

"By Symphony you really are dense," Siren muttered. "Neither of you have the right to lecture me about avoiding a friend. You don't get what it's like to have the role you've had for years stolen by the one you trust. Now let me be for now." The cat ran off out of sight. Hibiki tried to squeeze through, but eventually gave up.

"I don't understand her problem," Hibiki grumpily said. "She knew Hummy always had a shot at winning. Why is she getting so worked up about all of a sudden?" She had asked around trying to find her and nearly had to crawl through some garbage trying to find her, and she was annoyed that she accomplished nothing.

Staring at her fellow Cure, Kanade realized why Hibiki had disappeared on her. "You were worried about Siren and wanted to help her. Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?"

"You would have just laughed at me and said I was being overdramatic, or that I was trying to avoid practice again."

"Are you accusing me of not caring for her? I would've helped look for her if you told me what you were trying to do." Kanade felt the blame was being shifted on her again. "And of course I'm going to think you're avoiding practice if you just disappear without a word."

Now Hibiki was irritated again. "Apparently you didn't pay enough attention to see that something was wrong. You want to practice so much, fine, but I have other concerns that don't involve you."

It was happening again, Kanade realized. They could barely stand near each other without starting a shouting match. "Why does this keep happening? We just fight all the time these days."

"Perhaps it's because you are a stubborn fool who doesn't think about other people's feelings."

Kanade raised her hand to slap Hibiki, only to stop right before hitting her. No, that wouldn't do them any good. "I'm going back to the palace. Do what you want. I don't care anymore." Kanade ran off trying to avoid letting any tears come out from her eyes.

Hibiki stood still for a minute, then slapped her head. "Stupid stupid. This was supposed to help Siren, not get everyone mad." She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Her best friend seemed to hate her and Siren had gotten all mopey all of a sudden. She wanted to just get away from everyone for a while, but she couldn't, not while the concert was coming. "At least Hummy is still nice."

Thankfully, not everyone in Major Land was fighting with those close to them. Princess Ako was currently busy with her own task and was being overseen by her father. She was writing the invitations for the upcoming Grand Concert, and she wanted to make sure she represented her kingdom properly.

Her pen went down as she finished another letter. "That's the letter meant for the Garden of Light. I think we have covered just about everyone." Her hand was slightly sore from writing and rewriting the letters to make them look as perfect as possible.

Mephisto took the letter and gave it a look over. "It's perfect. That's my girl." He had a large grin on his face, proud that his daughter was growing up to do the tedious tasks he disliked doing. "They'll be sure to come after seeing your adorable handwriting."

"Please don't refer to my writing that way dad. It's supposed to be formal, not cute." Ako didn't mind the compliment, but the young girl had her own pride. "So who do we have left?"

Crossing his arms, Mephisto tried to remember which kingdoms were left. "Let me think. We've got Märchenland, Palmier, Trump, Sweets Kingdom, Bad End Kingdom, Land of Clouds, and Land of Clocks. Who else is there?" Memorizing foreign nations was not the king's strong point.

His daughter sighed. "I believe there is still the Dusk Zone, and we need to decide if we're going to invite Labyrinth and the Selfish Kingdom. It would also be proper to extend an invitation to Cure Flower."

"Aw yes, Cure Flower. Can't forget her." Mephisto discreetly pulled out a notecard with information about the other nations. "Don't bother with the Selfish; they're weird and not very friendly. What kind of kind of nation calls themselves Selfish anyway? Labyrinth we should probably invite, though I wouldn't expect a response from them. They prefer to be left alone and not talk with outsiders."

"I hope I got my political skills from mom and not you." Ako saw her father's cheat sheet as he scrambled to hide it again. "Alright, so Flower, Dusk Zone, and Labyrinth." She began work anew for the remaining letters. She had the style down, so she made quick work of the rest of the invitations.

Just as she finished the letters, they heard a knock on the door. "Excuse me, but the special courier is here and ready to deliver them when you're ready."

"Perfect timing," Mephisto said. "Bring him in."

Entering the room was Natural of the Major Trio showing Waon and the boy she escorted in. Waon went down onto one knee. "Your majesty, princess, this is Syrup, the courier we mentioned earlier. He can deliver the letters in a matter of days."

Mephisto, who was several heads taller, leaned over Syrup. "This tiny boy is going to get them there on time?"

"I'm the best courier in the world," the boy boasted. "Of course I'll get them delivered."

Mephisto continued to eye him until Ako pulled him back. "We don't want a repeat of last year," she said. "Make sure they get to the proper people this week so that they have enough time to arrive." Last year they had miscalculated how long it would take the invitations to reach the other nations, and most of the guests arrived only after the Grand Concert. That had been an embarrassment."

Ako handed Syrup the invitations. "Of course I'll get them there in time in time." He began looking at the locations he had to go to. "Garden of Light and Dusk Zone huh. That's all the way on the opposite side of the continent," he muttered.

"It won't be a problem right?" Ako asked.

"Not at all. I'll get them there in no time."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Mephisto raised his voice. "Get to it." Natural quickly escorted Waon and Syrup out. The king sat down and yawned. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing we're getting new help."

Ako wondered how the Grand Concert would go. Hummy was practicing for her most important role, but she wasn't the only one who had a part. Hibiki and Kanade had their own roles, but from what she had heard they were having some problems. Of course her own family had their sections, but they were constantly busy with royal work. And who knew what other troubles could turn up. This was the first year she had a role in organizing the concert, and even with her small responsibilities she was beginning to feel the stress.

"The more help we get the better. Don't we have to plan out the schedule?" At the nudging of his daughter, Mephisto stood up to figure out who was doing what when. "I'll take that as a yes." So much work for them to do. Sometimes she felt like sneaking out to do her own things, but for now she decided to bear it. As future queen, she had to take her responsibilities seriously.

* * *

Standing in front of Arbre Castle, Urara did not know why she was here. She had already turned down Dream's invitation, yet here she was at the exact location where she could change her mind. Something called her there, but she wasn't quite able to put her finger on it. Did she really want to be a Cure deep down? Was she curious what the castle was like? Did she want a chance to see the kings?

No, there was something else that drew her here. Lying deep within the castle was the Dream Collet, Palmier's greatest treasure. It was said to grant the wish of its owner. The Dream Collet was taken out once a year to grant a wish. Details on the wishes themselves were sparse, but rumors said they could grant immense riches or a feast to feed hundreds. Of course, not just anyone was given access to it. Normally only the ruler was allowed to make the wish, but there were whispers that a Pretty Cure was sometimes allowed to make a wish.

If she was given the opportunity, Urara knew what she would wish for. She would wish to be known throughout the entire world, and everyone would want to see her performance. A selfish wish perhaps, but it had been one she dreamed of ever since her mother passed away. Now she had a chance to make it come true, even if it was a fleeting chance. This was the perfect opportunity.

Yet she knew that wasn't right. She couldn't become a Cure just to get a chance at a wish. If she were to become a Cure, she should be doing it to protect the kingdom, not to get her own selfish desires. Yet the wish was the main reason she was even interested in the first place. Oh, how she wished there was someone who could give her advice on this.

"Watch out!" Behind her a voice called out. Turning around Urara only had a moment to see a pink blur before it collided into her, knocking both of them down. Urara rubbed her head as her collider got up almost immediately. "Sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Urara had taken worse bumps during practice sessions alone. She took the hand that was extended out to her and stood up. Then she saw who bumped into her, and her eyes widened. "Wait, you are…" She didn't expect to run into her by chance.

Nozomi stared at her for a few moments before she realized who she was. "Urara? I thought you weren't going to change your mind."

It took Urara a few moments to collect her thoughts. She had an opportunity right now, one that would propel her to stardom. She could become famous instantly even if she never got the Dream Collet. Even if she became one, there was nothing preventing her from quitting later if she was not suited for it. "I was reconsidering my options actually. I'm curious as to what it is like, if the offer still stands."

Nozomi was excited. "Of course it does. Ask whatever you like. I'll answer if I can."

There were several questions Urara wanted to ask, but one took priority over the others. "Were you headed somewhere? You looked like you were in a rush."

Nozomi's face froze. "Ah, you're right." She was quieter than she previously was. "I'm already late. I need to help out Komachi. Oh what to do." She had promised to help her, but she also wanted to bring in Urara. What to do. Then she came up with an idea. "Come with me." She grabbed Urara's arm and ran towards the castle.

"Where are we going?" Urara asked.

"To someone who can probably answer your concerns better than I can." The guards at the gate nodded and let her in without question. The two made their way through the castle. It was impressive to Urara. The ceiling was higher than most of the stages she had seen. Statues of the palm trees of Palmier and previous rulers decorated the halls. It was packed with all sorts of people going about their business.

After about five minutes of walking they entered a room filled with stacks of papers. In the middle was a green-haired girl reading the papers and occasionally stamping them. "Komachi, I'm here," Nozomi called out.

Looking up, Komachi put down the paper she was holding. "Hello Nozomi. Who is your new friend?"

"Remember the girl I mentioned earlier that I said might join us? This is her."

Urara bowed her head. A good first impression was important. "My name is Urara Kasugano. Pleased to meet you."

"Oh yes, I've heard of you before. You're an actress right?" Komachi asked. "Oh where are my manners? I am Komachi Akimoto, Cure Mint."

"Yes I am. I'm honored that you've heard of me." To Urara, Komachi seemed much more collected than Nozomi. It was a relief to see not every Cure was…eccentric.

"So what brings you here today?"

This was Urara's chance to determine whether this was the right path for her. "I was wondering what your life was like. What exactly do you do?"

Komachi took a few moments to think it over. "Well, there are several answers to that. But before I go on, I believe have something for you Nozomi." She pulled out another stack of papers.

"That's what you wanted me to read for you right?" Nozomi questioned.

Komachi nodded. "Yes, if you would. Please give it your honest opinion. Good critics are difficult to find for me."

Nozomi took the papers. "No problem. I'm sure you did a great job on it." She took a chair to a corner and sat down to begin reading.

Komachi brought out a chair for Urara. "Sit down please. I could use the break." Urara took the seat. "Now, what specifically would you like to know?"

Several questions flashed through Urara's head. She had rehearsed them by herself, and she knew what she wanted to ask. "Do you do lots of fighting, or is it mostly just ceremonial activities?" Urara wasn't sure which answer she would like more.

"Hm, good question. I'd say these days we aren't doing much fighting," Komachi answered. "There isn't too much need for us to go out, so we stay in the capital on reserve for when we are needed. Right now we're working on building on relations with other nations. I have the feeling that will change soon though."

"I see." Urara wasn't too surprised. These were relatively peaceful times, and when warriors weren't needed they tended to branch off to other areas. "In that case how tiring is the work you do?"

"Karen and I have long hours, but that's because we're experienced and have more responsibilities. Nozomi and Rin are able to go on living their ordinary lives most of the time. They'll handle a few things that need a Cure that Karen and I can't handle, but for the most part you could likely manage your life the way it is right now."

So they weren't constantly running all over the kingdom or world. That was reassuring for Urara. Now for some questions that more directly related to her. "How much attention do you get? Both from influential people and ordinary people."

Komachi seemed surprised by the question. "Attention? I don't know. It's not something I've thought about. I'd say the people who know who we are try to talk to us at least once. Out in public there are occasionally crowds that form to see us, but it's not hard to avoid them." She had bad memories of an incident where a dedicated fan really wanted her autograph. "You will become known if you become one of us."

Urara realized this meant she would get extra publicity only if she wanted it. That sounded useful. "Interesting. When you do have to fight, what is it like?"

That was a question Komachi figured was coming. "Honestly I'm not the best person to ask that. Karen can give you a better description of it, and I think even Rin has a better sense of it. If I had to say something, it's like speaking to an audience. You may be nervous at first, but when it comes you either do what you have to on instinct or just freeze up." She paused as Urara's eyes widened. "No, I haven't frozen up, but I've heard stories of where it happened."

So fighting was a bit like acting. Use your practice and instincts to accomplish your goal. Only fighting had a greater chance of physical injury. There was one more question she had. Lowering her voice, Urara asked "Do you get access to the Dream Collet?"

Komachi took a sharp breath. "The Dream Collet? I've seen it if that's what you're asking. Why do you ask?"

"Komachi, what does dissonant mean?" Nozomi asked. She had been getting absorbed into the story, but it bugged her not knowing some of the words.

Komachi didn't give an answer for a few moments. "Disagreeable or incompatible." She didn't look away, instead focusing on Urara. "What interest do you have in the Dream Collet?"

Urara considered herself decent at reading body language, but she couldn't tell whether Komachi was concerned or not over the question. Best not to chance it. "Just curious. I think that is all I need." She stood up and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for your time Miss Akimoto. Or should I call you Miss Mint?"

"Just Komachi is fine. It was nice talking to you Urara. What do you plan on doing?"

With the new information she had, Urara wasn't positive what she wanted to do. "I think I will go home for now."

Komachi gave an approving nod. "Yes, don't rush into this. Whatever you choose, I wish you good luck."

"Wait, you're leaving already Urara?" Nozomi had barely heard the conversation over the story of pirates in front of her. "I do think you'd be a great Cure, so I hope you come back."

"I shall see. There is much for me to consider now. Goodbye Komachi, Nozomi." Waving goodbye, she exited the room and started walking to the exit.

From what she could tell, if she became a Cure she would not have to give up her old life. She would have other duties, but she could continue with her career. She would gain fame and increase her network of colleagues. Right now Urara was not certain of the path best fit for her, but the path of a Pretty Cure seemed very tempting.

* * *

Leaving home was going to be tough, Mai knew. She would be gone from her safe and simple world and be thrown into the unknown. Without prompting she would not have done it, but after considering the possibilities, she was excited. She could gather new inspiration for both her paintings and stories.

"Have you got everything Mai?" her brother asked.

"I believe so," Mai responded. She read a bit up on travelling, and it seemed that taking only what was needed was recommended. She had her necessary supplies along with some painting materials to help pass the time. "I'm ready to go. It is a bit worrying though."

"Ah, I'm sure you will be fine," her dad said. "You're smart enough to handle yourself."

"Thanks for being supportive of me." Mai said.

Her mother laughed. "Oh we're worried all right. We just believe that you know how to keep safe."

It was nice that they cared enough to let her go away. On the way to her transport Mai's family continued to fuss over her and ask if she had everything in order. She felt like she could barely breathe at a few points.

When she arrived at her location, she was surprised to once again see some familiar faces. Rikka was being hugged tightly by Mana, and several other people were behind Mana. "Now Rikka, don't you forget me or Alice or anyone else."

"I'm more worried about you," Rikka said. "Are you sure you'll manage without me keeping you on a leash?"

"Don't worry. I've got plenty of help from others. Enjoy your time in Palmier," Mana said.

"Say hello to your father for me," a woman said.

Rikka gave her a hug. "I will mom."

"Are you leaving now?" Mai asked. She didn't expect to run into Mana and Rikka a third time.

Rikka and Mana turned to her. "Mai?" Rikka seemed surprised at first, then her expression softened. "Oh yeah, you had to go quickly."

Mai nodded. "Yes. In fact I should be leaving right now."

Alice approached Mai, umbrella in hand. "As it turns out the two of you are leaving together. I looked up your path and it seemed convenient to place you together, so I took the liberty of doing just that."

Everyone stared at Alice for a minute. The rich girl showed no sign of noticing. Rikka sighed. "The things you can do when you have the money."

"Is there a problem with that?" Alice had a smile on her face, apparently being pleased with her surprise. Not that she was finished of course.

"I…I don't think so," Mai stuttered out. The thought of who she'd be travelling with had never crossed her mind."

A medium size vehicle drove up to them. The door opened up, and a tall man with a large mustache and a white business suit came out, holding it open. "For you, ladies."

"Sebastian!" Rikka exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"I am your driver across the land actually," Alice's butler said.

Murmurs went around the crowd. Mana was the first to figure it out. "Alice, you're leaving too aren't you."

"As it turns out, I have business in Palmier as well. And there is something I need to pick up in the Land of Fountains, so I decided, why not enjoy the trip with one of my friends and lend a favor to someone else at the same time." Alice enjoyed springing her surprises on her friends.

"And you just thought to mention it now I suppose," Rikka said. She shook her head. "You know, fine. It is nice having a friend to talk to on the way there." Sebastian took her bags and placed them in the vehicle. "Thank you."

The butler walked over to Mai. "Your bags please miss."

"Thanks." The butler took her belongings and placed them in the vehicle. "I guess this is goodbye then."

"Stay strong Mai," her brother said.

Mana nearly jumped onto Alice. "Don't stress yourself out too much on work." She turned to Sebastian. "Take care of them for me Sebastian!" The butler simply nodded.

Makoto walked up to Rikka and offered her hand. "Have fun in Palmier. It's going to be tough managing Mana without you around."

Rikka shook Makoto's hand. "I'm sure you'll manage. Keep an eye on her for me."

Below them, a Sharuru was hugging both Raquel and Lance. "Oh how I'll miss you two."

Raquel pulled away from her. "You knew it was coming."

Several soldiers came running up to the group. "Cure Heart, several of the cleaning robots have gone out of control! We need your help to contain them!"

Mana jumped off Alice and ran to Sharuru, who jumped on her shoulder. "Roger that. I'm on my way. Rikka, Alice, have fun." Following the soldiers, she quickly disappeared from sight.

Makoto shook her head. "Always running before trying to figure out the situation. I better go help her." Waving goodbye, Makoto ran off to join Mana, a purple fairy riding on her shoulder.

"Off to save more people. Well, I guess that's what she's good at." That was what Rikka liked about her after all. "Time to go then."

Rikka, Alice, and Mai entered the vehicle, waving their final goodbyes to family and friends. Raquel and Lance followed right behind them. Mai found the seats surprisingly comfortable, and there was plenty of room for her to stretch her legs. All in all, it was more comfortable than she anticipated.

"Now then, I believe I have yet to properly introduce myself," Alice said. "I am Alice Yotsuba, heir to the Yotsuba Corporation."

Mai was still surprised she was in such a luxurious transport. "I am Mai Mishou. Thank you for letting me ride with you. Why did you do it? We don't know each other."

The rich girl put a finger to her lips. "Hm, I suppose you could say you intrigued me. Not just anyone gets invited to the Land of Fountains you know."

"So it was another one of your whims then," Rikka said.

The two fairies jumped onto Mai's lap. "I'm Raquel, Rikka's partner fairy."

"I'm Lance, Alice's assistant." The yellow fairy started to nibble on Mai's skirt before Raquel pulled him off. "Come to me if you need anything."

"Sure." These were amazing people to Mai. One was a genius, and the other was an heiress to a corporation. They had their own partner fairies and were friends with Cure Heart. She felt tiny and insignificant compared to them, and yet they were still friendly to her. Her journey was just beginning, but she felt like it was going to be exciting.

* * *

Nagisa seemed to always be scrambling lately. Whether she was trying to finish her homework, talk to her friends, go shopping, or even sleep, she never had enough time to do what she needed. Damn Shiho and Rina for making her go through with that prank. Or maybe she should curse Natsuko and Kyoko for coming up with the idea in the first place. Maybe she could blame Akane, who gave the two the idea to come up with such a prank.

"Nagisa, you seem to be struggling a lot," Mepple commented in a low voice. "Did you ever consider this is all just above you?"

"Well I'm sorry for not instantly understanding everything in one go!" Nagisa yelled. "There's a lot of stuff to memorize, and I'm busier than the average person to boot."

"Excuses. That should be motivating you to try even harder."

"Says the guy who gets to sleep most of the day on me." Nagisa was irritated right now, and her fairy was not helping her mood.

"I suffer even more than you do. While you're living your young life, I have to be separated from my precious Mipple. Oh how I miss her right now." Mepple gave an exaggerated twirl and fall.

Nagisa tried to slap him, but he dodged to the side. Looking back at her math homework, she realized none of it was sticking in her head. Was it because she was half-asleep in class today? Dang it, she didn't understand any of this, and the fairy next to her wasn't going to be of any help. There was only one course of action left for her.

Standing up, Nagisa declared, "Get in Mepple. We're heading to the palace."

"Awesome." Mepple jumped into Nagisa's pocket and transformed into commune form. "Why are we going now? I don't sense any darkness coming."

"Didn't you want to see Mipple?" No matter what she did, Mepple always had to criticize her. "I was thinking I could get some help from Honoka." Nagisa quickly gathered what she needed help with. When she opened her door, a boy nearly fell right on her. "Ryouta, what are you doing?"

Her younger brother backed away from her. "Er, nothing much. I just thought I heard you talking to someone. Looks like you were just talking to yourself. Again."

Nagisa grabbed his head. "No I was not. Stop imagining things to make me look bad."

"I'm not imagining it," Ryouta protested. "You've been like that ever since you started work at the palace. What are you doing there that makes you come home so late all the time?"

"None of your business." Her family was still asking her about it even after she made it clear she couldn't tell them. Nagisa shoved Ryouta to the side and ran to the exit. "I'm off to the palace," she said to her mother.

Rie Misumi was used to her daughter suddenly running out at a moment's notice by now. "Try and come back early today."

"There shouldn't be anything big today," Nagisa said. At least, she hoped that was true. The Dusk Zone was irregular with its attacks, sometimes striking two nights in a row, and sometimes waiting a week to attack again. It made no sense to her, but she would take any break she got.

On the way to the palace, Mepple grumbled, "You need to be more diligent about your work. Try following Honoka's example. She knows what she's doing."

"She has her own private tutors, so she's more flexible in her schedule," Nagisa countered. "Besides, she knew what she was getting into in the first place. She's more prepared than I was."

"She does seem to give more thought to her actions than you do," Mepple agreed. "For example, she knows better than to break into the palace during one of the most important ceremonies ever."

"Touché." Much as she hated it, Nagisa had to give him that one. "But she couldn't exactly break into a ceremony she was part of now could she."

Thankfully Mepple stayed quiet the rest of the way there. Entering the palace, she found it busier than usual. The tension seemed high, and people gave worried whispers to each other in the halls. Nagisa wondered what was going on.

"Misumi." Fujimura spotted her and waved her over. "Good timing. We were about to send for you actually."

Nagisa averted making eye contact with him. "Is something the matter?"

"An issue has come up," Fujimura said. "The Queen wants to see you. Honoka is already there."

The Queen? That probably wasn't good news. Even as Cure Black, she didn't get to see her often. Which was fine with her. Just looking at her made Nagisa feel puny and weak. "Understood." It looked like getting help from Honoka was going to have to wait. Hopefully this wasn't about them invading the Dusk Zone or anything. That would be sure to cut into what little time she had.

On her way to the Queen's throne, Nagisa ran into a face she didn't want to see. "Ah, Odajima, how are you doing?"

Yuka Odajima gave her a blank look. "I am fine if you must know. Not that what I do is of any concern to you of course. Now be on your way." Yuka walked past Nagisa without a second glance.

"She totally hates me," Nagisa mumbled.

"You're still going on about that aren't you," Mepple commented. "What did you expect? She was supposed to be Cure Black before someone bungled everything."

"Rub it in will you." Nagisa doubted she would ever make up with Odajima in her life. Amazing how a single mistake could change so much.

The door to the Queen of Light was massive. Large enough that it was never fully closed, mostly because it was such a massive pain to open it. Sometimes Nagisa wandered if even that was big enough for her to fit through.

An incredibly short person greeted her as she entered. "Good to see you're here Keiko. We have many important matters to discuss."

Mepple leaped out, having transformed into his fairy form. "It's Nagisa, Elder. Didn't we go over this five times already?"

"Was it? Forgive me; my memory is not what it once was." The Elder turned around, scratching his large white beard. "It seems everyone is here."

Nagisa shrugged. The Elder's quirkiness was another thing she had gotten used to. She still wasn't sure if he was a fairy or just a short human. Around the room was Honoka with Mipple on her, the Guardian of the Prism Stones, Pollun the fairy, a girl with blonde hair wearing a yellow-white robe, and of course, the Queen of Light herself.

Mepple and Mipple ran towards each other in a passionate embrace. Honoka focused on Nagisa. "Did you come here for a specific purpose?" She knew there wasn't a need for Nagisa to have come on her own.

Nagisa briefly debated on whether she should admit she came for help. No, that was probably a bad idea right now. "Call it instinct." Honoka nodded, seemingly satisfied. "So what are we doing? I assume we're not here to chitchat and eat snacks."

"Be a little more respectful in front of the Queen," Honoka whispered.

The blonde girl stepped up and clapped lightly. "The Queen is ready to speak."

All other talking ceased, and everyone's eyes went up to the Queen of Light. "Today I have a matter to discuss regarding the security of our kingdom." Her voice boomed throughout the room.

"It has to do with that Pissard guy right?" Nagisa guessed.

"No, that is a separate matter that will be dealt with in due time. I am talking about the Prism Stones. Guardian, please inform them."

The Guardian gave a loud sigh. "I knew it. Oh they're not going to like this." Nagisa didn't like the sound of that. Honoka's eyes narrowed. The small fairy turned to Nagisa and Honoka. "Recently we received word of the possible existence of more Prism Stones. Seeing how they are our most sacred treasures, we need to confirm or debunk their existence."

The seven Prism Stones held the Power of Creation that the Garden of Light guarded. Supposedly they were the source of the greatest power in the Garden of Light, and as long as they were guarded the Garden of Light was safe. Nagisa couldn't verify that herself, but everyone else seemed to believe it, so she figured there must be some truth in it.

"How did we learn of this?" Honoka asked.

"It was your parents actually White." Honoka seemed surprised, but then nodded in understanding. Her parents were travelling as jewelers after all, and if anyone would hear about more Prism Stones, it was them. The Guardian continued. "They heard descriptions of jewels disturbingly like the Prism Stones laying in Eternal, but weren't able to confirm it."

"Wait a second," Nagisa interrupted. "What's Eternal?"

Honoka answered quickly. "A large museum that dedicates itself to collecting all sorts of relics. It has a reputation of making sure history from all over the world stays preserved."

"If anyone could find more Prism Stones, it's Eternal," the Guardian said. "We need to secure them as soon as possible if they're real."

"Imagine what would happen if the Dusk Zone found them," the Elder said. "They could combine it with their Power of Destruction and cover the world in darkness."

"Darkness is a bad thing," Pollun said. "I don't like it."

This was all interesting to Nagisa, but she didn't understand what it had to do with her. "All right, so there may be more of our stones than we thought. Why am I here?"

Both the Elder and the Guardian coughed. Pollun looked sad. The blonde girl stared at Nagisa intently. Mepple and Mipple realized what was going on and high fived each other. Honoka figured it out next. "You want us to go to Eternal to retrieve them don't you?"

"What!" Nagisa shouted. "Why should we go?"

"Pretty Cure has great respect all over the world," the Queen of Light said. "Eternal is picky about who they invite, but they will let you in to survey their collection."

"Hold on a second, we can't just leave the Garden of Light," Nagisa said. There's still the Dusk Zone threat. We can't be gone for weeks. I still have my life. Where is Eternal anyway?"

"North of Grand Desert," Honoka stated. "Yes, it would take a long time to travel there and back."

"Weeks together with Mepple." Mipple sighed dreamily. "Perhaps it could be our honeymoon."

"You two never think of anyone but yourselves," Nagisa complained. No one ever wanted to be with her even a quarter of that time.

The Guardian spoke up. "Don't worry; I can take care of that. You should just be gone for a few days."

Mepple and Mipple seemed slightly disappointed. Honoka perked up. "In that case, I see no issue with going. Eternal sounds like a fascinating place to go to."

"Not you too." At this rate there was no getting out of leaving home, and knowing her luck, they'd somehow get stranded out in the middle of nowhere for weeks.

"I have faith you will accomplish your task in a timely manner," the Queen said. "Security will be increased while you are away, so do not worry."

Nagisa threw her hands up in the air. "I don't believe this. We're delivery girls now."

"Think of it as a vacation," Honoka said.

Nagisa stormed out of the room, followed by Honoka, Mepple, and Mipple. "What exactly am I supposed to tell my parents? Mom, dad, Yukishiro needs to borrow me out of the kingdom for a few days. Nope, can't tell you why."

"You'll think of something," Honoka said. "You've managed this long already. What's a few days gone going to do?" She stopped when she felt a pull on her sleeve. It was the blonde girl. "Hikari? Do you need something?"

"Please take me with you."

Honoka was too stunned to answer at first. "Wh-what? I can't do that. The Queen said you have to stay in the palace."

Hikari turned her pleading eyes to Nagisa. Nagisa had no idea who she was. All she knew was that she was almost always by the Queen of Light's side. Apparently she had some connection to the Queen, but that was it. "Er, sorry, but I think this expedition is just for the two of us."

Hikari's head went down. "I see." She turned back and walked away.

Nagisa felt a bit down at rejecting her, but quickly shook it from her mind. She had more important concerns right now.

"Did you need help with anything?" Honoka asked.

Right now Nagisa wasn't in the mood to work on anything. "Not really. Come on Mepple. We're going home." The yellow fairy gave a last hug to his girlfriend and leaped onto Nagisa. She at least wanted to keep her promise to her family for one night.

* * *

Carrying sewing supplies was a regular thing for Erika. She liked to try making clothes in different environments to see if she could gain any new inspiration from them. Right now she wanted to try it out in the botanical garden. If she was lucky she'd even get a cute new model. Judging clothes she put on herself was hard, and getting volunteers wasn't guaranteed.

When she was about to enter the garden, a girl came running out crying, trying to wipe tears from her glasses. She was sobbing as she passed Erika, who gave her a glance for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and heading in.

The garden was almost exactly like it was last time, with flowers spread all over. Tsubomi was in another section from before. "Tsubomi!" Erika yelled. The red-headed girl glanced over, then shifted her gaze back at the flowers. "You don't mind if I work here do you?" Tsubomi didn't make a movement for a few seconds, and then shook her head.

Erika didn't see anyone else in the garden, so she went over to near Tsubomi and plopped down on a bench. Tsubomi still paid no attention. Pulling out her a pen and sketchbook, Erika began drawing any design that came to her mind. Her first idea was inspired by roses, but she discarded them for being too cliché. Next she tried daisies, and she liked that better. Finishing a rough sketch, she took out her materials and began to work on a partially completed shirt. It was a mere prototype, but all good designs came out after test runs after all.

After about half an hour of work, she looked up to see Tsubomi staring at her. Their eyes met, and Tsubomi quickly returned to her plants, watering them. Erika continued her work, but kept and an eye on the shy girl as she slowly, perhaps unconsciously, inched closer to Erika. Erika decided to see what she was like. "Do you like working here all the time? I don't know about you, but a change in scenery always freshens up my mind." Tsubomi mumbled something that Erika couldn't hear. "Speak up if you want to say something."

"Yes, this is the most appropriate place for me. The flowers need me, and I feel like I get to know each one individually." Tsubomi was still quiet, but her voice could at least be heard now.

That line clicked with Erika. "I get what you mean. Not with the flowers; I can't tell them apart at all. But all the clothes I make, they all have my own special touch that makes them unique. I can tell if your clothes had true heart put into them. Let me see yours." Erika leaped up and ran to Tsubomi before she could react, pulling on her skirt. "Oh, this is the Fairy Drop skirt you got earlier. Nice choice. It looks great on you."

Pulling away, Tsubomi's face flushed. "Pl-please don't get that close to me."

Erika was about to poke her face when she said that. "Ah don't worry. I'm not gonna hurt you. Hey, why don't you try some of the stuff I brought? I hate just making things my size, but everyone else seems so reluctant to model for me."

"No thanks," Tsubomi declined. Surely she wouldn't do them justice, she thought.

Erika was about to insist some more when something rammed into the back of her head. Something familiar. "The intruder has returned! It is time we did away with her once and for all!" Yep, it was definitely him.

Erika reached behind and grabbed Coffret. "Now listen here, I'm just trying to get to know her, so you can just go sit down in the corner and think about how you've misbehaved."

"I misbehaved?" Coffret was even more bewildered at the energetic girl. "You are just barging in here and disrupting Tsubomi's peaceful life. Our future hero deserves all the peace she wants."

"You two seem to be getting along well." Chypre was observing them bicker from a distance, uninterested in getting involved with their conflict. "Tsubomi, what do you think of my new ribbon?" She was wearing a spotted blue and pink ribbon from Fairy Drop.

"It looks nice I guess." Tsubomi wasn't an expert on fairy fashion, or any fashion for that matter, but Chypre looked as cute as always to her.

Erika was continuing her shouting contest. "So what if she's a Cure. That doesn't mean she can't try my new designs."

"She has said she's not interested, so that should clue you in that she means no. Unless you're too stupid to know what no means," Coffret sniped.

"Um, I'm not actually a Cure," Tsubomi said. She hated it when people called her that.

"Even better," Erika declared. "That frees you up to focus on being a star without the baggage of all that duty stuff they have." She casually threw her notebook at Coffret, and it landed on a row of flowers. Chypre scrambled to pick it up.

"Hmph, she even litters," Coffret said. "I think I'll get Sir Coupe to remove you from here."

"Coupe isn't here right now, remember?" Chypre pointed out. Coffret growled when he heard that.

Erika glanced around the garden again, and this time she spotted a difference. The large stuffed animal she saw before was completely gone. Did someone bother to move it? Upon closer inspection, she also discovered a patch of flowers that had withered. Odd, seeing how dedicated Tsubomi was to taking care of them. Maybe there were other caretakers.

Tsubomi wanted to say something, but found her voice stuck in her throat. She had no idea what to say, but Erika completely dominating the conversation bothered her. Then Erika spoke again. "So do you like live here or something?"

"I guess I do spend a lot of time here," Tsubomi said. "But even I'm not here all hours."

"Nope just an average of about six hours a day," Chypre stated. "Honestly even I'm impressed by your dedication."

"Six hours!" Erika thought the garden looked nice, but spending that much time here would get tiring for her. Even her own room got boring, especially after she was forbidden to paint it again. "How can you not get bored? Don't you have some other place you want to go to?" She was getting awfully close to Tsubomi again. "Like, I'd like to go to Major Land and listen to all their music or the Sweets Kingdom and eat enough chocolate to fill me for a year or the ocean and dip my feet into the nice cool water while enjoying the breeze."

Tsubomi shrunk back and hesitated to answer. "Er, there is a place actually." She gave it another moment's thought. "Someday I'd like to see the Cure Rose Garden."

Erika was about to ask what that was when a large stomp jolted the question out of her mind. Another stomp seemed to shake the garden itself. "What the heck is that?"

"It's coming from outside!" Coffret shouted. He, Chypre, and Erika rushed outside to see the commotion. Tsubomi lagged behind them.

What they saw could hardly be described with words. A giant melon with vines attached to it was rampaging around the area, knocking down trees and trampling the bushes and flowers. A heavily tanned woman wearing skimpy dark yellow clothes and a cape was standing on top of it. "Oh Moonlight, come out come out wherever you are!"

Erika responded as she did to most odd things, by running up and shouting at it. "Hey weird person, what are you doing?"

The woman seemed to barely note Erika. "Don't get in my way squirt. I want Moonlight right now. I'm already getting impatient."

Coffret floated up to her. "Moonlight isn't here. She left the city a while ago."

The woman narrowed her eyes, then shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't matter. Get me Sunshine then."

Chypre answered her next. "Sunshine is out for today."

The woman seemed to be getting frustrated. "Great, I finally get here and none of the Cures are here. Little good for nothings. Is Flower still in business?" She shook her head. "I guess I'll just give Sunshine some incentive to return quickly then." She pointed to a couple of people huddling under a tree. "Desertrian, make a mess of them for me."

The giant melon took one jump to nearly reach the group, leaning over them. A boy stood in between the monster and the girl behind them. Erika ran over and recognized the two in trouble, Kenji Ban and Kanae Tada, both of whom went to her school. No one was going to threaten her classmates on her watch. "Hey stupid melon, pick on someone your own size!"

Turning around, the woman stared at Erika. "I've dealt with scorpions more dangerous than you, but if you insist I suppose I can stomp you flat." Pointing at Erika, the Desertrian leaped to grab her. Erika leaped back, avoiding it by a few centimeters. Breaking into a full out run, Erika kept away from the monster, mocking the woman whenever she had a breather.

Tsubomi stood back, her legs shaking where she stood. Two thoughts screamed through her body. The first was to run away and hide in the garden, where she'd be safe until someone came to help. The second was to do something, anything to help out Erika, who was brave enough to challenge the creature she had no chance of beating. The thought of abandoning the girl who was reaching out to her was almost too much to bear, but she couldn't think of anything she could do.

Chypre began yelling at the scared girl. "Tsubomi, you need to transform!" Tsubomi froze up when she heard it. "No hesitation allowed. The other Cures aren't here. You have to get rid of that monster."

Oh how she wished that Moonlight or Sunshine would return right now. Or even her grandmother, as she should be able to handle this perfectly fine. Yes, any other Cure of Kibougahana would be better suited for this than a girl who was too scared to even transform. But they were not here, and she had the capability to stop it. The task was up to her if anyone was going to beat it.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. I'll do it." Chypre handed Tsubomi her transformation device, a perfume bottle.

Erika finally messed up, tripping and banging her head against the ground. The Desertrian scooped her up with its vines. The woman laughed. "Oh you will remember the day you mocked the great Sasorina with pain, or you would if you weren't going to die now." The Desertrian began squeezing Erika. "Sunshine will think twice before ignoring me next time."

Erika found it hard to breathe with the vines strangling her. She tried biting the vines, but the grip only lessened slightly. Suddenly the vines retracted and the monster screamed in pain. Erika found herself on the ground, and above her was Coffret holding a pair of hedge clippers. The vines had several deep cuts in them. "Thanks for the assist buddy." Erika gave the fairy a thumbs up.

"I can't let such monumental stupidity disappear before I've fully mocked it." Coffret dodged a vine that lashed out at her. "We should probably run now."

Sasorina was laughing again. "Yes, run. Run all you like until you bring them here."

"Pretty Cure Open My Heart!" Everyone turned their eyes to Tsubomi, for while her words were not loud, they held a conviction in them that demanded they be heard. Tsubomi was engulfed in a pink light that swirled all around her. In an instant she reappeared in different clothes from what she wore before. "The flower that spreads throughout the land, Cure Blossom!" Blossom ended her transformation in a pose that seemed uneasy, but determined.

Erika had stars in her eyes. "Cute! Adorable! Fantastic! It's just like what I imagined a Pretty Cure would look like!"

Sasorina scratched the back of her head. "Cure Blossom? Never heard of you. Oh well, you'll do just fine. Go Desertrian!" The monster leaped towards Blossom, who jumped to the side. As soon as the Desertrian landed, a vine lashed out at Blossom, who either ducked or fell to avoid it. Blossom tried to scramble up, but only succeeded in tripping over herself. The Desertrian landed a glancing blow on her, sending her flying into the branches of a tree.

Sasorina shook her head. "You're kind of pathetic." She jumped off the Desertrian and landed on the ground. "I'll let you two duke it out. If this is just going to be a one way battle, then at least make it entertaining for me."

Blossom landed on the ground, thankfully on her feet this time, and began muttering to herself. "I won't lose. I'm not supposed to lose. I have to keep up in grandma's legacy." Her entire body was shaking, though it wasn't too sore thankfully.

The Desertrian walked up right to her, but it refrained from striking again. To Blossom's shock, it started speaking. "Why don't the flowers like me? Hanasaki does so well with them, but everything I touch just withers and dies. Oh I should be able to learn from her, but I can't just go up and ask her."

Blossom hesitated before making a move. That voice sounded familiar. "Aya?" She had no time to question it before the monster lashed out with its vines once more. Running forward, she managed to dodge them and landed a punch on it, which merely destabilized it. Running behind it, Blossom took her time to try and launch another attack. This turned out to be a mistake, as she was hit by its foot as she was charging up.

Sasorina continued chuckling. "Wow, you must be competing for the title of weakest Pretty Cure ever. I'm shocked you could even transform with that performance."

Erika watched the battle with intensity. "This isn't looking too good. Anything I can do to help?" she asked Coffret. She was worried Blossom wasn't going to win, especially when she was grabbed by a vine and slammed into the ground, screaming in pain. Erika grabbed Coffret. "Seriously, what can I do?"

"I don't know!" the blue fairy shouted. "Only Pretty Cure can take those beasts on, unless you want to try distracting it again."

It was meant to be a snipe at her, but it made Erika remember what she said she wanted to do the first time she met Tsubomi. "Then make me a Cure. Right now." She said it strongly with a serious face.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Coffret mumbled. Erika turned him to the battle, where Blossom ran herself into a tree trying to dodge. It would've been funny if the situation wasn't serious. "Okay, fine. But it's only for Tsubomi's sake, not your own."

"Hurry up then!" Erika was shaking the fairy intensely.

"Give me a moment!" The shaking stopped. "And let me go." Erika did just that. Concentrating, a light came out of Coffret, and then a perfume bottle appeared out of him, which Erika caught. "Hold up the Heart Perfume and yell, Pretty Cure Open My Heart."

"Got it." That seemed simple enough. If that was it, then maybe anyone could be a Cure. Erika shoved those thoughts aside. She had a mission now, a sacred duty that only she could complete. Maybe sacred was overselling it a little, but it was really important anyway. She was getting distracted again. She held up the Heart Perfume. This was it, her moment of glory.

"Pretty Cure Open My Heart!" That instant energy flowed out of both the Heart Perfume and Coffret into Erika, and for just a moment she felt removed from the world. A blue light enveloped her whole body as she felt her clothes changing shape. She almost felt like she was spraying her clothes on, which was both silly and kind of awesome. Then it ended, and she was left standing as a Pretty Cure.

Unlike Blossom's pink clothes, her own clothes took a more bluish color, which matched her hair. Come to think of it, her hair had changed too. And she wasn't just changed on the outside, but on the inside too. She felt like she had enough energy swim to 15 kilometers, or even conquer the world. Something was missing though.

"Where's your speech?" Coffret questioned.

"I don't know. I didn't actually have the time to come up with one you know." The speech was important, but something else was missing. It was on the tip of her tongue. Oh well, she'd figure it out later. First she had to play hero. "Evildoers beware, for the secret hero of this town has arrived to punish you in the name of…the flowers!" Nope, that speech didn't work for her.

No one paid attention to her, with all eyes on Blossom feebly trying to fend off the Desertrian. Sasorina wasn't even bothering to look at the fight. "Guess I'll have to make my debut the old fashioned way," Erika declared. Running forward as smooth as a breeze, the Desertrian was undefended when Erika smashed her fist into its back knocking it flat onto the ground. "Ooh, nice punch."

Blossom stared at her savior. "Is that really you?"

Erika gave a cheesy grin. "Yup, the mighty Erika is here to save the day."

Coffret smacked her. "You're supposed to use your Cure name when transformed."

"What do we have here?" Sasorina commented. "Two newbies in one go. Maybe I am lucky after all."

Erika contemplated her options. Flower was already taken, as was Beauty apparently. She could name herself after some flower or astronomical body, but being a knock off wasn't her idea of a good name. She needed something unique, something to help her stand out among the sea of Cures in the world. Hold on, that was it.

Posing, Erika knew what her big speech was. "The flower the flutters by the ocean winds, Cure," her speech was interrupted by a sweeping vine knocking her down. "Hey, don't interrupt my big moment!" Grabbing the vine with great strength, she managed to twirl the creature around and sent it flying near where Sasorina was, who rolled out of the way. Rushing forward, her knee bashed the monster's face. That attack was followed up when she put her fists together and hammered it over and over again until the Desertrian wasn't moving any more.

She gave a great big laugh. "Never underestimate me! From now on, everyone shall know the wonderful and glorious Cure Marine!" No one cheered for her. "Okay, my audience is going to have to improve a bit, but we can work on that. Now what do we do?"

Blossom caught up to her. "Please step aside. I'll take it from here." Marine complied, and Blossom summoned a tact to her hand with her will. Sunshine had told her how to do it, and it relieved her to find she could do one thing right. She pointed it at the Desertrian and spun the center. "Shine, flowers! Pretty Cure Pink Forte Wave!" An energy blast that almost looked like a blooming flower shot out of the Blossom Tact, engulfing the Desertrian. It seemed to flush before disintegrating, leaving behind a crystal with a flower inside it.

Sasorina observed the proceedings, then saw something interesting in the corner of her eye. The Heart Tree was shining brightly. "I guess that'll do it for today." She quickly made herself scarce.

Marine took ahold of the crystal. "What is this?" She shook it, but nothing happened. Not even the flower inside it seemed to waver.

Chypre flew over, carrying a small crystal ball. "Blossom, I found this."

Blossom looked inside the crystal, and to her shock she found a girl she knew. "Aya!" She took the ball. "Don't worry, we'll help you somehow."

Looking at the ball, Marine whistled. "Now that's a neat trick. Wonder how she fit in there." On a whim she tapped the ball with her crystal, and both objects shined brightly before coming together, and the girl trapped in it appeared in Blossom's arms. "Uh, I meant to do that." Aya was breathing peacefully. Now that Marine got a closer look, she saw that she was the same girl that ran out of the garden earlier. She doubted that was a coincidence.

Blossom set her down. "Thank goodness you're alive."

The two Cures looked up when they heard steps running at them. It was Kenji and Kanae. Kenji was the first to speak. "Oh man, it was great to see Pretty Cure in action. I never realized there were others besides Sunshine here. Thanks for the help."

Kanae nodded. "Yes, this will make a great story, and I get to be the first to interview the new Cures." She then stared at Marine. "Hold on, you're Erika right? Since when were you a Cure?"

Marine was about to brag some more when Blossom grabbed her. "We must be going now. Please take care of her," indicating towards the sleeping Aya. Blossom dragged Marine away until she got the point, and they ran behind the garden, followed by their fairies.

"So, are we like superheroes now?" Marine liked the sound of that.

Chypre hugged Blossom. "Congratulations on finally doing it."

Coffret was grumbling. "Great, now I'm stuck with her aren't I."

Blossom sat down, hands on her head. "It happened. It really happened. I changed." Her entire body was shaking, almost as if she were in shock.

"You sure did," Marine said. "Atta girl. Now you and me are going to become stars and surpass Moonlight in beauty and coolness." Her ambition was flaring up, determined to stand on top of the world. It stopped when she saw Blossom crying. "What's wrong? You're not hurt are you?"

Sniffing, Blossom shook her head. "No. I…I just need some time alone, that's all. And a talk with grandma." Without another word she transformed back into Tsubomi and walked off. Chypre followed her. Coffret looked at both Tsubomi and Marine, then went with Tsubomi.

"She's an odd one," Marine commented to herself. "Oh we're going to get along just great. Things are starting to look exciting." Then she realized she had another problem. "Hold on, how do you transform back?!" Yes, these were shaping up to be interesting times.


End file.
